


Karda Mauva

by Zeible



Category: Bionicle - All Media Types, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: (For Mask of Light), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But hey it's kinda crack, Crossover, Fix-It, Friendship, Gen, Is this Crack? I think not, Why Are Takua and Takanuva Not a Single Tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:46:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 37,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23550289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeible/pseuds/Zeible
Summary: Sora, Donald, and Goofy come upon a strange new world in the midst of their first adventure together, a world called 'Mata Nui'. When they arrive though, they find things are strange, and nothing like the other worlds they've visited...
Relationships: Hahli/Jaller (Bionicle), Jaller & Takua (Bionicle), Sora & Takua (Bionicle)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 11





	1. Dreams in Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh...yeah. Kingdom Hearts/Bionicle Crossover fanfic. Sounds crazy, no? 
> 
> Yeah, yeah it was.
> 
> But I was committed. Too many parallels not to at least mash them together to see what happens, right? Plus, I love Bionicle and I know it makes me happy to see a bit more content for it, even when it's only fan content. 
> 
> This fic will cover Mask of Light, but it won't be exactly as in canon. Both for the obvious crossover-related reasons, and because I think Mask of Light was severely and jarringly disconnected from the rest of the Mata Nui Saga and later stories, and could use a bit of reworking.
> 
> The title comes from the expanded Matoran language created by outofgloom and many others. You can check it out https://outofgloom.tumblr.com/matoran-language. What does it mean? Take a guess~
> 
> I hope you enjoy.

Sora was alone. He didn’t know where he was, only that it was dark, and cold. Donald and Goofy were nowhere to be seen, and neither were Riku and Kairi. There was no ground beneath his feet, and yet he was somehow standing. He couldn’t remember how he’d gotten here, but it felt very _off_ very _wrong_ and very _different_ from the other times he’d been near Darkness.

“Hello?” He called out, his voice sounding oddly muffled, like he was under a blanket.

There was no response. Sora felt fear start to grip his heart, and he hoped he was just dreaming. Yes, it must be a dream. He’d had plenty of those since starting this journey, most of them bad. But this one felt...different. Normally Riku was there, or Kairi was there. Usually they were back home on the Destiny Islands, or one of the worlds they had more recently visited.

“Hello?! Is anyone there?!” He cried out, more desperately. This time his voice was just a _bit_ louder, but still nowhere the volume it should’ve been. Something was definitely wrong; if this was a dream, surely he’d be awake by now? Or able to change things, if he was lucid dreaming…

Sora imagined something good, something light and warm; he tried to think of the sun, or Kairi’s smiling face, or even just Goofy doing something ridiculous.

Instead, something else happened; a small, golden pinprick of light showed up in the distance before him. The boy tilted his head at it in confusion; it was way too small to be the sun, and too shiny to be Kairi. (And it certainly wasn’t Goofy doing something ridiculous, unless he’d somehow set himself on fire).

The light grew, and expanded. Gradually he saw that it wasn’t just a light at all, but a...a _thing_. It looked weird; vaguely shaped like a face, but off. No mouth, or nose. Two eye slots, and a bunch more slots down the cheeks. The sides and the top had narrow fins along them that swept backwards, like hair in wind. The whole thing- a mask, he guessed- was golden metal. The light that shone out of it wasn’t reflected from anything else, either; it all came from within, like a torch.

Curiosity outweighing his fear, Sora walked towards it. He reached out, and found he could touch the mask. It was faintly warm to the touch, and comforting. Something about it...it felt _good_ to hold. Like the Light in his Keyblade, he guessed. When he picked it up, it shone even brighter than before- but the light wasn’t blinding. Instead, he looked into it, utterly transfixed.

Suddenly, he was broken from his reverie by a malevolent laugh. It was deep and guttural, and sounded like it had come from the very depths of the darkness that surrounded him. He tried to summon his Keyblade to his hand- but it didn’t come.

_“What are you, curious little creature of flesh and bone?”_ The voice was coming from a specific direction now, and Sora trembled as he turned to look. Where it had come from he saw two great red eyes- more slit than orb- floating there in the darkness, staring into his soul.

“What...who are you? Are you with Maleficent? One of the Heartless?”

The presence laughed. _“What am I? I am_ Heartless, _I suppose. In a manner of speaking, at least.”_

The boy looked down at the glowing mask in his hands, and frowned. “What...what is this?! What do you want with it?!”

The voice did not answer, though the eyes seemed to go wide at his word. Immediately, a hand of pure shadows emerged, bathed in just enough eerie red light for Sora to see it even in the otherwise absolute darkness. He turned and tried to run- but his feet found no purchase against the shadowy ground, and the ethereal hand seized him in its grasp. He screamed and struggled helplessly as he was pulled backwards into the darkness, and felt himself fading away…

“SORA!” A squawking voice called out, and Sora opened his eyes. Goofy and Donald were standing over him, looking _very_ concerned. He looked around, and saw that he had been asleep on the floor of the Gummi Ship.

“What...what happened?” He rubbed his head, which was pounding furiously now.

“I dunno, you just kinda...fell asleep.” Goofy said, scratching his chin.

“Are you alright? You had us worried!” Donald said, sounding almost uncharacteristically concerned.

“I’m fine, guys. I just...I had a weird dream. There was this _thing_ and it...it wanted this mask? Do you know anything about it?”

The dog and the duck exchanged a confused glance, and both shrugged.

“Sorry, don’t know about any masks. It was probably just a weird dream, Sora.” Donald said, the concern mostly faded from his face.

“Yeah! Like this weird dream I had just the other night; there was the King, and he was dancing the Hula with this weird blue koala-lookin’ thing...”

“Goofy, focus!” Donald barked, “We need to concentrate on getting to the next world!”

Sora stood up, and recalled that they had just finished with their visit to Atlantica. Next was...he couldn’t remember, actually. All these new worlds were a bit too much for him to keep track of.

“What _is_ the next world, anyway?” Sora looked out the window of the Gummi Ship, but of course he couldn’t see anything in the void between worlds.

“Let me see...” Donald hopped on over to the ship’s controls, and fiddled around with it before pulling something up on a display screen. It was the usual symbolic representation of a World, like they used for all the others to convey the general sense of where in the World they were landing. This time, it was a beautiful-looking island...but a very strange one. Unlike his home in the Destiny Islands this island wasn’t all tropical. Instead, it looked like some bizarre patchwork. The south was a familiar-enough looking jungle, and there were some wetlands on the eastern side around a bay that looked like it could’ve been found in the islands. The rest though was just _confusing;_ a frozen peak in the middle-western part of the island, a massive desert in the far north, some rocky and barren badlands in the northwest, and a lava-filled wasteland around an _enormous_ volcano in between them all.

“It’s called ‘Mata Nui’, and I’m gonna have to disguise us like last time.” Donald said casually, looking over the island.

“Huh? Why? It doesn’t look like we’ll need to breath underwater or anything.” Indeed the island, strangeness aside, had a certain charm to it. Sora didn’t understand what could possibly be lurking _there_ that would be anywhere near as strange as the mermaids of Atlantica.

“Sure, but some worlds aren’t full of normal folks like us,” Goofy said, “Some of ‘em are so weird that a human, a dog, and a duck would stand out.”

“What?! What kind of world would think the three of _us_ look like a weird group?” Visions crossed Sora’s mind of bizarre planets filled with things like sapient transforming robots, talking rock-men, armies of lava slugs, or even a world of nothing but cats! The possibilities were endless!

Donald shook his head and pressed his palm to his face, but said nothing. “Anyway,” the mage continued, “We should get there in a few minutes. I’m gonna pull us in for the final approach. You two should probably sit tight.”

Goofy made one of his signature laughs, and buckled himself into his flight seat. After a bit of hesitation, Sora did the same. He was still troubled though. That dream had been so _real_...and the figure in it had filled his heart with the same eerie dread he felt around that brown-cloaked man back on the Destiny Islands. He sat back, and tried to relax, as Donald pulled the Gummi Ship in for a landing…

Sora blinked his eyes open. They had landed, and he looked around at their surroundings; to his surprise, it was indeed a beach just like back home. The sand was white and beautifully soft and smooth. The sea was a pleasant blue, and the sky was cloudless. To their left he saw a thick-looking jungle that started only a few feet from the shore. He wondered what was so strange about this world that they’d have to disguise themselves…

“Gawrsh, you sure do look funny, Sora!” Goofy’s familiar voice called out, and Sora turned around to look-

-and shouted in surprise when he saw how Goofy had changed. In Atlantica, Goofy was a turtle- but he still had his same recognizable face. Here, he was...he was something _else._ Made almost entirely of metal- save for a few bits of muscle that Sora could see peaking out from gaps in his armor- he was some kind of robot-thing now! Almost completely green, and lacking any of Goofy’s recognizable physical traits except for his lanky build. Probably most unnerving of all, Sora couldn’t see his _face_ ; just a green metal mask.

_Like the one in my dream_ , he thought, puzzling it over, _Except this one’s all….green._ _And it looks different._ Where that one had resembled, as he thought, a serious-looking man with his hair swept back by wind, this one looked more like…like some kind of weird shield, he guessed. There were two eye holes through which a pair of glowing yellow-green eyes looked at him, and a bunch of slits down the cheeks like on that other mask. The only really familiar element was that he still had his hat, though this was the green hat instead of the yellow one Sora usually saw him with.

“Gwah! Goofy? Is that you?” Donald’s squawking voice called out, and Sora turned around slowly to see what had become of his Wizard friend. It was a similar case to Goofy; where he had been flesh and blood (and feathers, lots and lots of feathers) before, he was now metal and a bit of muscle. Unlike Goofy, who had kept his usual primary color of green to an extreme extent, Donald was now mostly white; excepting his chest plate, his whole bio-mechanical body was white. On his face was another weird-looking mask; this one had a strange, swept-back look like the one he’d seen in his dream. Except this one had _very_ wide-looking cheeks...or whatever he called those things on the sides of the face. Donald’s now-mechanical eyes shone out, blue, through the mask he now wore. His staff, normally tipped with a wizard’s hat, currently had a small effigy of a humanoid figure on it instead that looked like it was posing in triumph. Like Goofy, the only really recognizable element of Donald was his zippered blue hat.

Sora blinked, catching the glint of light off Goofy’s shield- that had perhaps been the one thing in their party to go largely unchanged. Curious about his new form, Sora looked into the reflective surface; he saw that like Donald and Goofy, he was now mostly mechanical. Where Goofy had turned almost pure green and Donald was now primarily white with a hint of blue, Sora looked...odd. He had an inconsistent color scheme that more greatly resembled his clothes; his metal feet were yellow like his regular shoes, his legs and lower torso were red like his jumpsuit, and his upper torso and arms were black like the body of his jacket. On his face, there was a mask, like with the other two. His looked oddest of all; it was spiky, kinda like his hair actually, if symmetrical. There were little fins around the sides too, though, which made him wonder if it was meant for flight or something.

“What...happened to us?” Sora asked, very confused at their ‘disguises’. “What is this place?”

Donald shrugged, which looked odd with his metal body. “I...I don’t know. I didn’t read up much on this world before we came here- it wasn’t one that the King, Master Yen Sid, or me had ever been to before!”

“Huh.” Sora said, scratching his...chin? Was it a chin now? It felt like a chin. He scratched it with his metal hands, and was very surprised to notice that he still had sensation. Come to think of it, he could feel stuff all over his body- even in parts that were normally covered in clothes. It was very odd to suddenly realize he was effectively naked, but he decided not to dwell on that. Hopefully it wasn’t normal around here to wear clothes, otherwise they’d _definitely_ be standing out.

His idle musings were interrupted by the sound of rustling from the jungle, followed by a roar. The three of them turned to face it- Sora summoning his Keyblade to his hand, and noting briefly that it now looked like it had been machined rather than smithed, and looked like it was made of parts he could disassemble. Out of the jungle, there was a scream for help.

“Help! Help!” The sound of a boy around Sora or Riku’s age came crying out from the jungle. Out of the bushes ran some...one. He (Sora hoped it was a he, since it _sounded_ male and he couldn’t make out any of the usual features one used to discern if someone was male or female) was mostly red, and mechanical like the three of them were. He had a blue mask that looked almost exactly like a goalie’s mask, which stood out sharply against his red body and yellow feet.

Suddenly, the boy paused, and tiled his head at them. “Huh? Who are _you_ guys?” His eyes fell not on Sora, like most people’s eyes did when they arrived on a new world, but on _Goofy_.

“Are...are you another Toa?” He looked up in Goofy in wonderment and confusion.

“Huh? Tow a? Tow a what?” Goofy asked, sounding as confused as he ever got- which was sadly very, very confused.

“Toa, you know, To-a? The heroes who protect us all?” He looked over at Sora, and then quickly switched his gaze to Donald. Again, he looked _very_ confused.

“Wait, what? A Turaga? Here? Another Turaga?”

“What’s a Turaga?” Donald asked, his quacking voice mangling the word. Briefly, Sora pondered how he was still sounding like his mouth was full of spittle when he was speaking with metal parts now, but decided not to overthink it. This world was strange enough already, probably wouldn’t be wise to let it confuse him too much.

“Ooookay.” The blue-masked boy (Was he a boy?! Sora was getting very confused what this guy was) turned to look at Sora. “Uh...neat tool there. Wait a second...you’re a Ta-Matoran! How come I’ve never seen you back at Ta-Koro?”

“Oh, um…I’m from another island?” Sora hoped that would answer everything, like ‘another ocean’ had back on Atlantica. Plus, this time it was actually true!

Unfortunately the boy’s confusion only seemed to deepen. “Other island?! There’s other islands?! But the Turaga said there _was_ no world beyond Mata Nui!”

Well great. Now they’d _really_ muddled it up.

Before things could get any more awkward, a snarling beast burst out from the jungle. Sora marveled when he saw that, like the boy and the trio, it was a biomechanical beast. Unlike him and the others walking around on two feet, though, it was a lot more bio- than mechanical. The front half looked almost completely like a normal jaguar or leopard, if lined with odd metal bits here and there. The hind section though, was fully mechanical- and it had _treads_. It snarled at them, and charged forward on its treads.

“Agh! A Muaka! Oh, where are the Toa when you need them.” The boy said...then, to Sora’s surprise, he pulled out a slingshot from some hidden compartment. “Look, if you guys can keep it busy I can try to pelt it down with these, maybe drive it away!”

“Sure, we’ll give it a try!” Sora said, leaping forward with his Keyblade. He swung at the beast, and smacked it good across the face. Behind him, he heard Goofy and Donald leaping into the fray. Goofy swinging forward with his shield, and Donald casting spells at it.

“Whooooa, that’s a cool mask power!” The blue-masked boy said, after Donald hit it with a powerful Thunder blast. “I didn’t know Noble Kanohi could pack _that_ kind of a wallop!”

“Wha? Kanowho?” Sora asked, as the treaded cat was backing away from him slowly in preparation for a leaping attack.

The boy looked at him like he was stupid. “You know, Kanohi? Like the one you’ve got on your face?”

Before Sora could ask what that had to do with Magic, the beast leapt forward. Goofy leapt in front of Sora with his shield raised to tank the blow...only for something _strange_ to happen. The green mask he had on glowed, and suddenly a field of green light surrounded him. The cat- the Muaka, as the blue-masked boy had called it- was repelled by it, and fell on its back. It struggled to return to its feet, and snarled at them before turning around on its treads and speeding back into the jungle.

“Huh? How’d you do that, Goofy?” Donald asked, sounding very perplexed.

“Uh...I dunno. I just kinda, wanted to protect Sora, I guess?” Goofy shrugged.

“You’re kidding, right?” The blue-masked boy asked, sounding utterly incredulous. “You’ve got a Kanohi Hau on, a Mask of Shielding! How can you be a Toa and not know what it does?”

“Listen, kid,” Donald asked, stepping forward and huffing as he did so, “You better start telling us who you are and what’s going on!”

The boy cocked his head. “...kid? What’s a kid…?” He waved his hands dismissively. “Whatever. My name’s Takua, I’m the Chronicler of Mata Nui. I’m from Ta-Koro, and right now we’re...uh...I mean, everything’s pretty calm, as of late.”

The sudden shift in his tone suggested something was wrong, but none of the trio felt like asking him exactly what he was hiding. Instead, Sora spoke up.

“Well, I’m Sora- this is Goofy, and that’s Donald. We’re looking for some kind of Keyhole. Would you know where one is?”

“Keyhole, huh? Hmmm...sorry, I’ve been all over the island but I haven’t seen any keyholes. At least, none big enough for _that_ key.” He pointed at the Keyblade. “That is a key, right?”

“Uh….sort of, yeah!” Sora shrugged, wondering if this was another world where nobody had heard of the Keyblade. He hoped it was; things had been awkward enough in the last world with Triton. He didn’t want a repeat of _that_.

“Then, no. No Keyholes that I’ve ever seen. Then again, maybe the Turaga would know! They’re having a meeting in Ta-Koro right now, actually. If you want I can show you the way; it’d be the least I could do after you saved me from that Muaka.”

Sora looked at Donald for assurance, and the duck nodded. Sora smiled- which felt weird to him, with the mask magnetically attached to his face mimicking the facial expression. “Sounds good!”

The boy, Takua, led the trio up the beach for a while. The whole time he talked about the island, its general history, and so on. He was one of the ‘Matoran’, one of the ordinary villagers who populated the island’s villages. Each was called Something-Koro, (Sora thought that Ko-Koro sounded particularly odd, but he couldn’t place why), and was in a something-Wahi. Takua was one of the Ta-Matoran, from Ta-Koro, in Ta-Wahi. The Turaga he kept mentioning were their elders; protectors with magic powers, but more important for their wisdom than anything else. Apparently Donald looked like one right now, which they all agreed was _really_ weird. All of it was a bit weird-sounding to Sora actually, but he supposed the Destiny Islands sounded weird to most people, too. A lot of the names sounded a bit familiar to him, but more for general sound than anything specific.

Eventually, Takua reached the topic of the Toa.

“So, your big friend there- Goofy- _he’s_ a Toa, or at least...he _looks_ like one. There are six Toa here on Mata Nui, one for each village; Tahu, Kopaka, Gali, Lewa, Onua, and Pohatu. They protect us from the Rahi- big beasts, like that Muaka back there- and anything else the Makuta throws at us.”

The name sent a chill up Sora’s spine, and he didn’t know why. “Makuta? What’s the Makuta?”

Takua’s eyes became dark, and he took on a serious tone. “We don’t like to talk about him. The Makuta is the source of all things that threaten the Matoran. It took all six Toa together to just _hurt_ him once, and he’s still around. He unleashed the Bohrok swarms on us, and then the Bohrok-Kal. He’s hugely powerful, dangerously clever, and pure evil. He’s the master of Shadows, an ancient monster that is the reason Mata Nui’s still asleep.”

“Asleep? He put the island to sleep?” For all that Takua had built this thing up, this Makuta sounded pretty harmless if the most evil thing he’d done had been to make an island take a nap.

“No, not the island! The Great Spirit, Mata Nui! He created us Matoran, gave us our purpose! He’s the one the island is named after.”

“Ohhhhh, ok. That makes sense. So why did Makuta put him to sleep?”

“Nobody really knows, but the Turaga say its because he was jealous of his brother.”

“Brother? You mean him and Mata Nui were brothers?” He thought of how close he and Riku had been, before all this happened; though Sora didn’t have any siblings, he tended to think of Riku as a brother. Or at least, that was how he was generally _supposed_ to feel about it, he figured.

“Yeah, but Makuta didn’t like that his brother got to be in charge, so he cursed him to fall asleep. It’s been like that for as long as anyone can remember.”

Sora nodded, feeling he was finally starting to understand things. “So, are the Toa gonna try to wake Mata Nui back up?”

“Oh, sure! At least, eventually. We’re not really sure how that works, though. The Turaga have always been vague, beyond that it’s the Toa’s Destiny to awaken him. And that’s the most important of the three virtues.”

“The Three Virtues? What’re those?”

“Unity, Duty, and Destiny. It’s what it means to be a Matoran, a Turaga, or a Toa. We work together to perform our duty, in the hopes that one day we reach our destiny. Make sense?”

“Yeah!” It was actually refreshing to Sora, after all the weird-sounding proper nouns, to learn about something that was so simple and straightforward. Plus he liked the ring of it; Unity, Duty, Destiny.

They kept walking for the better part of an hour, and Takua informed them of recent events; the Toa’s arrival on the island, their quest for their great Kanohi masks, the battle with Makuta, the Bohrok swarms, the attack of the Bohrok-Kal, and now how everything was peaceful and great. They made their way off the beach and started going up a trail along the slopes of the volcano Sora had seen from the Gummi Ship; the mountain Takua had called the ‘Mangai’. After a while, something occurred to Sora that he probably should’ve asked about sooner.

“So um...you notice any Heartless?”

“Heartless? No, nothing like that. Not sure what that is, actually.”

“They’re like...creatures of darkness. They look like walking shadows with yellow eyes, at least usually.”

“Huh. Sounds a lot like something the Makuta would make. I’ve never heard of any, though. Why do you ask?”

“Oh uh, I’ve just run into some in the past. I was worried I might find some here.”

Takua shook his head. “Nope, none of those around here. And hey, we’re almost home at...Ta-Koro?” The Matoran looked ahead up the mountainous trail, and Sora followed his glowing gaze. Ahead, he saw a magnificent fortress carved from the mountain rock, glowing with orange light from the lava within and around it. At first he was wondering if Takua was freaking out about the lava, but then remembered that Takua had explained the city had lava floes that they actively harvested from. When he looked closer, he saw what the Chronicler was freaking out about; swarms of twitchy, shadowy figures were charging at the ramparts. From the walls, hundreds of Ta-Matoran were throwing rocks and pouring redirected lava onto the Heartless, all to little effect.

“Heartless!” Sora shouted, drawing his Keyblade. “We’ve got to stop them!”

Takua nodded, looking more resolute than Sora had seen him looking before. “Right! Let’s try and find Jaller; he’s my friend, and he’s Captain of the Guard.”

Sora frowned, and wondered how he was supposed to tell which of the nearly identical-looking red figures was supposed to be Jaller.

The Ta-Matoran seemed to sense his confusion. “Oh, right. Jaller’s the one in the yellow Hau. You know, the mask your friend has on.” He pointed at Goofy’s mask, and in turn the Captain of the Guard of Disney Castle felt at the mask himself. Sora couldn't see them clearly enough from this distance, but he could see how the yellow mask would help this Jaller stand out once they were close enough.

“Right, exactly.” Takua said, pointing finger guns at Sora and Goofy. “Also let’s see if we can find Turaga Vakama. He’ll want to know everything you know about these Heartless things.”

The four of them charged forward, and Sora immediately dove into the thick of it. He swung at the Heartless left and right with his Keyblade, sending them back to the Darkness with ease. Donald, for his part, was trying a lot of new magical tricks he had gotten since getting more experience after Atlantica. At one point in the fight his mask glowed, but unlike with Goofy all it seemed to do was make Donald _very_ confused.

“Donald? You okay?” Sora asked, when he helped his friend back to his webbed feet. They had dealt with the Heartless in the back of the main group, and were taking shelter behind a rock to heal up before dealing with the horde right in front of Ta-Koro’s gates.

“Yeah. Something _weird_ happened; I saw through all the Heartless, and at the rocks behind them. It was like X-Ray vision.”

“Well duh,” Takua said, ducking behind the rock with the others, “You’ve got an Akaku, there. Turaga can use Kanohi like Toa can, but theirs’ are weaker. Toa Kopaka has a Great Akaku, and his lets him see for _miles_ and through all kinds of stuff. I figure yours is a lot shorter range, and probably has less features. Especially since it doesn’t have his little scope-thingy.”

“Uhuh,” Donald said, sounding nonplussed, “Right. Well I’ll try to keep it in mind going forward, I guess.”

Goofy was already drawing up his shield again, and charged into the horde of Heartless. The others followed him, Sora taking up the right flank with Donald while Takua mostly just hung behind Goofy and took potshots at the Heartless with his slingshot. Sora was impressed; this Matoran was really brave for a guy without any magic or weapons.

Eventually, the four of them managed to carve their way through the Heartless and reached the gates. Standing guard were two Ta-Matoran who waved at Takua, and then pointed their spears at the trio.

“Halt! Who are you?” One of them, an all-Red Matoran with a bullet-shaped mask, said as he pointed his spear at Sora.

“Ah come on, Agni! He’s with me! He just helped us against those Heartless.”

“Heartless? So you know what they are?” The Guard called Agni asked, sounding a lot less aggressive. He was still holding up the spear, but wasn’t quite pointing it as threateningly.

“Yeah, I’ve run into them before.” Sora said, rubbing his hand behind the back of his head. The feeling of metal back there was a reminder of how _weird_ all this was.

“And who’re those two? They don’t look like Matoran, but I don’t know of any Turaga or Toa other than the six we already have.”

“Huh? Oh that’s Donald, and that’s Goofy.” Sora said, pointing to them each in turn. “They’re my friends!”

Luckily this time that seemed to explain it, well enough. Agni lowered his staff, and nodded at the other guard.

“Alright. Takua, take ‘em over to Jaller so he can check ‘em out first. We’re gonna keep watch here.”

Takua saluted and smiled. “Aye-aye, sir! Come on guys!” He half-ran, half-hopped as he lead the other three through the Ta-Koro gates. The village was much larger than Sora’s own, but even though it was made from stone it was almost as alien as the Matoran themselves; everything was made from cooled lava or metal, and everyone here was red as fire- or one of a few similarly warm colors. Here and there he saw a blue Matoran, or a brown one, but he figured they were visitors from the other villages. He saw Matoran pouring lava into molds shaped like the masks they wore, and a few Matoran hawking some odd-looking disks.

Eventually, Takua led them to a building built into the wall and led them inside. There, a few Matoran were talking in hushed tones. In the middle of them Sora could see one in a yellow mask like Goofy’s; this must’ve been the guy named Jaller. He was pointing with purpose to a map, and seemed to be discussing the recent attack.

“Jaller, hey! I’ve got some visitors I think you’d like to meet!” Takua said cheerfully, waving to his friends.

The gathered Ta-Matoran looked up, initially disinterested, and then all jumped when they saw the trio following Takua.

Jaller was the one to speak up. “Takua! Who are these guys?! Where did you find….is that another Toa?!”

Goofy let out a sigh. “Why does everyone want me to tow somethin’ today? I haven’t had a tow truck in years!”

The gathered Ta-Matoran quirked their heads in unison, dumbfounded at the sight before them.

“He’s... _probably_ not a real Toa,” Takua said, hesitantly, “I think he might just be a freakishly tall Le-Matoran? Though if he is, he’d be the first I’ve met not to merge-combine all his speech-words together.”

“A Le-Matoran who doesn’t use Treespeak? Thank the Great Spirit.” Jaller said dryly, “And who’re those other two? More Matoran?” His gaze fell on Sora. “You there, who are you? I’ve never seen you around the village.”

“Well I uh...my name’s Sora, and I’m from another island.” He knew that wouldn’t go over easily, after Takua’s reaction, but it was better to keep his story consistent. Besides, he hated outright lying to people.

“I...see,” Jaller said, folding his metal arms across his chest, “Well, what’re you doing on _our_ island, then?”

“He says he came about some ‘Keyhole’,” Takua began, then added, “Oh, and he knows about those creatures that just attacked!”

“He does?” Jaller sounded intrigued despite himself. “Ok then, what do you know?”

“Well,” Sora began, feeling nervous at being put on the spot, “They’re creatures of Darkness, made when a being loses its Heart. Right now there’s probably lots of them all over this World, trying to find their Hearts. I’m trying to find the Keyhole and close it so they can’t get to the World’s heart.”

The Ta-Matoran were all silent for a bit, then Jaller walked up to Sora. He looked him over thoroughly, as if trying to spot some chink in his armor.

“I think you should talk to the Turaga, and the Toa- whenever they get back.” He headed for the door. “I’ll lead you. Takua, you better come with too. This sounds like a meeting worthy of a Chronicle, to me.” He shot Takua a glare that spoke to something unsaid between the two of them, but Sora didn’t know what it could be.

Takua looked annoyed, but said nothing. The four of them followed Jaller deeper into Ta-Koro until they reached a building Jaller referred to as Ta-Suva (Was everything Ta-something around here?). It was a humble-looking stone pavilion around a dome in the floor. The dome had six divots, each containing a different mask. In the center was a weird-looking symbol floating in midair. Gathered around the Suva were six figures that Sora noted were similar in build to Donald’s current form; each was a different color and wore a different mask, but otherwise they were rather difficult to tell apart. There was also another Matoran, this one white and with a pale blue mask with a bunch of odd eyepieces on one side. Something about him seemed oddly familiar to Sora, but he couldn’t place what.

They were discussing something when Jaller led the others in, but their conversation stopped the minute Sora stepped over the threshold. One of them, who wore an orange mask with a long tapered bit running far below the rest that made Sora think of a long scraggly beard, stepped forward.

“I see you were right, Nuju. Forgive me for my original skepticism; it was just...unexpected.”

The one wearing a white mask clicked and whistled like a bird. The Matoran by his side spoke.

“He says ‘Have I ever been wrong, Vakama?’” The Matoran’s voice was gentle, and his body language rather demure. He seemed like someone trying not to be noticed.

The Turaga in the orange mask- Vakama, Sora guessed- chuckled. “No, I suppose not, old friend.” He motioned to Sora. “Come here, Sora. You as well, Goofy and Donald”

“How...how did you know our names?” Sora stepped forward gingerly, with Goofy and Donald following behind him.

“You some kinda wizard?” Goofy asked, scratching at his head.

“No. It was our friend Nuju who foretold your arrival, written in the movements of the Red Star. They spoke of these creatures that have assailed Ta-Koro, and of the coming of strange visitors...who are not of this World.”

Sora tried to hide his shock. “Wha-what? Not of this World? What are you talking about?”

The one in the blue mask spoke. To Sora’s surprise, the voice was light and feminine. “There is no need to hide who you are, young one. We know you mean to help us. It is best if you tell us all that you know already, so we may tell you all that _we_ know.”

Takua briefly interjected. “Wait wait, you’re not from this World? What...what does that mean?”

“It means, Chronicler,” said the one in the greyish-black mask, “That Sora has journeyed a great distance to aid us. The forces of Darkness assault our world from all sides, and I fear that the Makuta has a hand in all this.”

Sora stepped closer as asked, and gingerly approached the gathered Turaga. “I came here with...with the Keyblade. I’m going to use it to seal the world’s heart to stop the Heartless from taking it, but I don’t know where the Keyhole is. Do you know where it might be?”

Vakama sadly shook his head. “I do not. I’m afraid that we are awaiting another sign before we can provide your guide.”

“Another sign?” Takua asked, sounding oddly nervous. Sora noted he was fiddling oddly at one of his sides; there was a compartment there, and it looked like it had something inside…

“Yes, Takua,” the Turaga in the sandy mask said, sounding a bit irritated, “The appearance of the Mask of Light. The Mask will appear, and choose a Herald; then, this Herald shall guide Sora to the Keyhole...and to the Seventh Toa.”

Suddenly, he heard Jaller mutter something and tackle Takua. The two started bickering in muted tones, and the others looked on in confusion. Vakama seemed about to step in and intervene, when something flew out of Takua’s side-compartment and landed on his foot. It faced up at Jaller, and shone brightly...and Sora recognized it immediately; the Mask from his dreams!

“The...the Mask of Light!” Vakama proclaimed, sounding astonished. “Where did you find this?”

“Uhhh...” Takua began, nervous, “In...in an unusual stone, in the Mangai.”

Vakama and the other Turaga traded enigmatic glances, and for a moment Sora saw that the Ko-Matoran, Matoro, looked as nervous as Takua had a minute earlier. But they all said nothing, and simply nodded. Vakama stepped forward, and held up the mask. It still shone in his hands, but less brightly than before. He spun it around and looked at the insides. Sora got the feeling that, if his mask’s eyebrows could raise, they’d be going up right now.

Almost under his breath, Sora could hear Vakama mutter “That’s new...” But without elaborating, the Turaga spun around and handed it to the blue Turaga.

“Nokama, there is some strange text on the inside of this mask. Please, translate it.” He turned to Jaller and Takua. “You two, please go fetch Tahu. If you can find any of the other Toa, bring them as well. This will be important.”

The two Ta-Matoran left, bickering with each other quietly as they did so. Privately, Sora was reminded of him and Riku...sort of. Takua was kind of like him; adventure-seeking, extroverted, curious. But Jaller was only like Riku in how serious he could be, or at least that’s how he seemed. He certainly wasn’t as _arrogant_ as Riku could get.

The Matoran named Matoro (Which Sora noted, seemed a bit like being a Human named Humo) walked over to them and fidgeted with his hands a bit, clearly nervous.

“Um, Turaga Nuju wanted me to answer any questions you guys have while Nokama looks over the mask. He said um, to not worry about keeping secrets.”

Donald put his hands on his hips, producing an odd clicking sound that made Sora wince. “Now hang on just a minute. How did he know we were coming here?”

“Well, Turaga Nuju is an expert at divining the future from reading stars. He’s been able to predict all sorts of impossible-seeming stuff. H-he knew when the Toa were about to arrive, everything about the Bohrok, uh, stuff like that.”

Donald sputtered, sounding annoyed. “But then how did he know our names...”

“Oh uh, that was actually Turaga Onewa.” Matoro said, pointing at the Turaga in the sand-colored mask. “He used his Kanohi to um...read your minds a bit.”

Sora frowned, not liking the sound of that. “He can read minds?”

“K-kinda. The thing is he’s got a Kanohi Komau, a Mask of Mind Control. But he only uses it on Rahi, normally. Sometimes though when a Matoran is lying, or hiding something bad, he’ll use it to learn what the thing is. I promise he wouldn’t have tried to learn anything secret you guys didn’t want him to know, though.”

Donald huffed, and stomped around the room. Goofy, for his part, seemed entirely unbothered by this notion. Sora decided to let it go- people had done worse in other worlds just on _sight_ , after all- and decided to ask a few questions instead.

“So, why does Turaga Nuju talk like a bird? Is he cursed or something?”

Matoro shook his head. “Oh no, Turaga Nuju speaks the language of flying Rahi by choice. I was picked as his interpreter because I already had a knack for talking to Rahi from-”

He paused, then looked at the Turaga. He made a few clicks and whistles of his own at Nuju, who clicked and whistled back rather insistently. Matoro’s shoulders slumped, and he sighed.

“From...from my past as a Rahi trainer. I used to help train uh, flying Rahi and stuff in Onu uh, Koro and other places to uh, help people out.” He was pausing a whole lot, and Sora could tell something was wrong. Deciding it wasn’t his place to pry, he put his hand on Matoro’s shoulder comfortingly.

“That’s pretty cool, Matoro. I wish I could talk to birds.” He winced; it had sounded better in his head.

“Yeah, that’d be something.” Goofy added, then turned to Donald. “Right Donald? And maybe even talkin’ to dogs and cats, too!”

Donald looked at him as though he _really_ wanted to smack him on the back of the head, but just sighed. “Yeah. It’d be something alright.”

Matoro seemed to calm down a bit, and...smiled? Sora got the feeling he was smiling, even though his mouth was hidden behind the mask. He seemed happier, at any rate.

“I really appreciate that. A lot of the time I worry I’m not really doing anything important, but...it’s nice to be reassured. Thank you.”

Sora smiled back. “So, what’re they doing?” He asked, pointing over at the six Turaga gathered around the Mask. Nokama was saying something in a strange language, and the others were listening intently.

“Oh, Nokama’s using her Mask of Translation to read whatever’s written on the inside of the Mask. It sounds like it might be a while. Her mask lets her read any language, but the stuff in there’s apparently really old and _really_ exotic.”

After that the conversation between Matoro and the trio shifted to more mundane things; Sora letting him know _some_ information about the worlds they’d already been to, and Matoro telling them about some things on Mata Nui that Takua hadn’t told them already. Most of the interesting stuff concerned Ko-Koro, his home village. (That name STILL sounded odd to Sora, and he couldn’t place why). A village filled with snow and ice was about as far from the Destiny Islands as he could get. Sora really hoped the Keyhole wasn’t up there.

Eventually, the sounds of footsteps came approaching the Suva. Sora and the others turned around to see Jaller and Takua...followed by three tall figures, each matching Goofy’s current form in height. The three of them didn’t react to Sora, but were all surprised at Goofy.

“A...another Toa?” The lead one said. He was wearing a red mask that looked like it had been made from lava. His voice was deep and rough. “But, how? And... _another_ Toa of Air? Really?!” He groaned in frustration- sounded to Sora like he had some problem with the color green, really.

“Calm yourself, brother.” Said the one in the blue mask that looked like it belonged on a diver- her voice was high and feminine like Nokama’s. (Was that the case with all the Ga-whatevers? Were they all girls? Were they the ONLY girls?) “If he is another Toa, then I welcome his joining us.”

“Indeed, Tahu! I think six was too few to deal with the Makuta, anyway!” The third one, with a bronze-colored mask covered in sharp-looking fins. He stepped up to Goofy and extended his hand. “Greetings, Brother! My name is Pohatu, Toa of Stone. The sputtering fire-ball right there is Tahu, Toa of Fire. The wise and sensible one next to him is Gali, Toa of Water.”

“Well gawrsh,” Goofy said, “I didn’t even know I had any brothers! This is a treat!” He took Pohatu's hand and shook it enthusiastically. Sora briefly expected Pohatu to lose his grip- Goofy's handshakes could be _pretty_ overwhelming- but he just returned the gesture in kind, and chuckled warmly. Sora was definitely starting to like this guy; he seemed _nice_ in a way that put Sora at ease.

“Um, Pohatu,” Onewa said, sounding a bit awkward, “Goofy here is a visitor, and not... _quite_ a Toa. He is, in any event, not the new Toa we have brought you here to discuss.”

“Oh, I see! Well it was good to meet you all the same, Goofy.” Pohatu said amiably, and then walked over to the Suva. Tahu and Gali followed him, with Tahu resuming his lead position. With how aggressively he made sure to stand in front of the other two, Sora figured he must be the leader. Or at least, he must _think_ he was the leader.

“Why have you brought us, Turaga? We were in the middle of tracking down reports of some remaining Bohrok in Ga-Wahi.”

“Bohrok can wait,” Vakama said, holding the mask, “For a new sign has emerged. One that concerns you, and our friends over there.” He beckoned for Sora to step closer.

For the first time since entering Ta-Suva, Tahu took note of Sora. His eye fell on the Keyblade. “What’s that? I’ve never seen a Matoran carrying a weapon like that before.”

“It is a Keyblade,” Vakama said simply, “And it is half the secret to our newest mystery. Here is the other half.” He held aloft the Mask of Light.

“The Mask of Light,” The Turaga of Fire began, “It’s appearance heralds the arrival of the Seventh Toa, who shall bear it. The Seventh Toa shall be the Toa of Light, and will defeat Makuta.”

Nokama stepped forward, and gently held Sora’s hand holding the Keyblade. “What is more, it will help guide the wielder of the Keyblade to the Keyhole, which will allow him to save our world from the darkness that comes to consume it.”

Tahu looked at Sora, and grunted. “I’ve never heard of this Keyblade _or_ it's wielder, from you or anyone else. Why didn’t you mention him before now?”

“Because until now, we had not heard of him,” Onewa began, “It was only in recent nights that Nuju saw his name in the stars and foresaw his arrival.”

Gali stepped forward, and looked at Sora sympathetically. “What is your name, brave Matoran?”

“Uh, Sora...Miss.” He wasn't really sure if she _was_ female, since she looked to be mostly robot, but with the feminine pronouns it was pretty clear she _was_ a woman, or a wo-something. (Then his mind started wondering to Wo-Koro, Wo-Wahi, and Wo-Matorans. Probably the Matorans of the Element of Sadness...or Surprise...)

She nodded. “And he shall wield this Mask to find the Toa of Light?”

Vakama shook his head. “No. His place is to wield the Keyblade. The Herald...is Jaller.”

The Captain of the Guard, who had been quiet up to that point, suddenly jumped in place. “What? Me? But...but Takua found it!”

“Indeed. But that is no matter,” Vakama said, “What matters is that the mask shone upon you when it appeared before us. Therefore, you shall guide the way to the Seventh Toa.”

Jaller glared daggers at Takua, who looked away as if in shame. Jaller sighed, and then stepped forward. “Then I accept my Duty, Turaga Vakama.”

Before Vakama could say anything else, Tahu spoke up. “Well what are we waiting for, then? We should get moving immediately, prepare for this Toa’s discovery. I will accompany Jaller-”

“No, Tahu,” Vakama said, cutting him off, “Jaller and Sora must take only their closest companions on this voyage. Besides, you are needed here. I fear the Makuta shall not simply stand idly by while we search for the Seventh Toa. It is better that they travel inconspicuously, to avoid drawing his eye.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Sora said happily, “Me, Goofy, and Donald can keep Jaller safe enough. And it’s not like he and Takua can’t fight.”

Vakama seemed to smile at Sora, in a way that struck him as...wistful, perhaps?

“You have great fire in you, Sora. It will serve you well on this quest. Protect Jaller, and find the Keyhole. Together, you shall save our world from the Darkness, and bring Light to the Shadows.”

Sora wanted to smile back, but somewhere inside him something felt wrong. He got the feeling that somehow, somewhere, there was something watching them.

And that something was laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you can't tell, part of why I was so passionate writing this whole thing (Yeah if you can't tell by the posting date, I'd had this finished first, THEN posted it. I was a bit anxious about sharing it, to be honest) is because of the sheer WHOLESOMENESS of Sora and Takua being friends.


	2. The Road to Light

In Mata Nui, in its darkest depths, there was a place no Matoran dared to tread. It was called _Mangaia_ , the realm of Makuta. Here only the Toa Nuva (Though not yet quite _Nuva_ at the time) had ever ventured in recent memory, and to confront the Makuta. They had defeated him, but not destroyed him. He had used the Bohrok, and then the Bohrok-Kal as a means of buying time, to lick his wounds. But now he was back to his full strength.

And he was intrigued by recent developments. The Mask of Light being found once more was expected, if unfortunate. He _had_ planned to just unleash the Rahkshi, his sons, to hunt them down. He doubted they’d succeed- but that hardly mattered. If they found the Mask, it would just mean he could keep the Matoran and the Toa Nuva trapped here a while longer. Useful, but not essential to his plans. Even with the Mask, and the Toa of Light - whoever they were - they could not come _close_ to undoing what he had planned.

But before it had been found, he spied with the instruments in Mangaia something very interesting; a visitor from among the stars, coming down to their world. With his Telepathy, he had spied on the little creature’s mind; and oh, what secrets he had. A flood of Shadows across the Worlds, a promise to fulfill, and most interestingly of all...

_H_ _e has a Keyblade._ Thought the Makuta in his lair, most intrigued indeed. _The last time a Keyblade was in this world, it was a thousand years ago...or was it less than that?_

Time moved differently in the worlds, Makuta had learned. What was a millennium for him might be a mere decade- certainly he’d come to learn that beings from other Worlds had absolutely minuscule lifespans compared to even the lowliest Matoran, so it could not possibly move the same. Otherwise, how would some beings return after countless millennia had passed in this World, if they couldn't last a single _century_ in their own?

_Still...there is something familiar about him. So familiar._ There was someone like him here, once. Someone who had wielded a Keyblade quite different from the one this ‘Sora’ now carried…

All that was to say nothing of these Heartless, of course. They had potential, _such_ potential. Alas, he had no reliable means of producing them- and the Makuta had no interest in minions he could not mass produce. Not in the long term, anyway, and the long term was all that _really_ mattered to him. Yet these Heartless were so different from the few he had seen in the past; the strange emblem they bore, and the _smell_ of artificiality about them...there must be some secret to them.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of air being whipped around and displaced by the creation of a portal. Curious. What arrogant fool was simply going to barge into Mangaia, right into his private sanctum?

A swirling mass of purple-and-black energy appeared. So similar to the Shadow the Makuta commanded...yet wilder, somehow. Less controlled than the energy that his mask embodied. Out of it stepped...something. It looked like a brown cloak, with an odd shape. Inside the hood all the Makuta could see was shadow...but he sensed a presence nonetheless.

Immediately upon entering Mangaia, the Shadows seemed to draw around it. Though he could undoubtedly intervene, the Makuta was _far_ too fascinated with this display to simply stop it. He sat back and watched as a new being emerged from the mass of Shadows; a being of flesh and bone, with silvery hair. It was maybe a head shorter than most Toa- and had amber eyes. It wore something made of yet more cloth. Whatever was draped over it was mostly black, and left the flesh of its chest bare.

“Such Darkness…such overwhelming Darkness...” The being said, sounding awed. “Have I found Kingdom Hearts at last? No. This is not it...yet it is so close to what I want, so close indeed...”

Now the Makuta simply had to know. He stood and approached the being with ponderous footsteps. “Tell me, thing of flesh and blood. What brings you to my domain?”

The being stood tall, and looked upon the Makuta without fear. It was impressive, if that courage was not from simple ignorance, that he could do so.

“I am Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness.”

The Makuta chuckled. “You have _found_ it.”

This figure- this _Ansem_ \- stepped closer, and inspected the Makuta. “I have not visited this world before...or have I? I feel as though I remember you.”

Indeed, now that the Makuta considered it there was something so _familiar_ about this being...or not this being. Something nearby, something guarding it... _that_ was familiar. This creature though, felt more like an echo. A phantom copy of something far away that he had once glimpsed.

“If you had met me,” the Makuta began, “You would not have forgotten me, I can assure you.”

“What is this place, filled with such Darkness?”

The Makuta had humored this being’s madness long enough. It was time he got some answers of his own. With a casual effort of will, he drew upon his power to create Stasis Fields and bound the Seeker up in them.

Ansem had clearly not expected this; he struggled gamely against it, and showed admirable force of will and power to even be able to _move_ within the field. Still, he was clearly unable to break out of it on his own.

“I will be asking the questions now, oh _Seeker._ Tell me, why are you in this World?” He reached out with his telepathic powers to pierce the veil of this creature’s mind, to see what it had seen. Beneath the obvious surface thoughts of a desire for escape and awe at Makuta’s power, he saw tantalizing images; a desert filled with Keyblades, a battle between an old man and a young one, worlds consumed in darkness, and hordes of monsters made of Shadow. Yet he did not find the exact answer he sought; so much of this creature’s mind was occluded that even his power could not grasp it perfectly.

“I...I am here for this world’s heart. I seek seven pure Hearts of Light...to finally unlock Kingdom Hearts.”

This being grew more interesting with each passing moment. “And what is this...Kingdom Hearts?” He pushed harder into Ansem’s mind, peeling back the layers of Darkness that had blocked his access- he saw a moon shaped like...something he did not recognize. And yet...and yet he could _feel_ what it was, somehow. _Sense_ that it was everything he had sought, though it was unknown to him and alien to this world.

“Ah...it is _power_. It is infinite power and knowledge. And you seek one of seven means by which to access it here?”

Ansem glared at him, and practically growled out his answer. “Not...here! I seek more than just Kingdom Hearts! I seek….I seek...” His eyes went wide, and suddenly his anger was replaced with fear and...confusion? Beneath the surface of his mind, the Makuta could see Ansem’s thoughts unspooling. Something had been tripped, or triggered; some missing part of him he hadn’t seen before.

In such a state, he would be of no use to the Makuta. He released the stasis field and relieved the pressure on Ansem’s mind. The organic being (Or whatever one called a pseudo-organic creature of Shadow) collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath now that the intense pressure had been relieved from his chest, and looked up at the Makuta with fire in his eyes.

Makuta raised a steadying hand, a gesture he had not used since a conversation with a certain Ahkmou a millennium ago. Oh how similar this might be, in the end. “Calm yourself, Ansem. I am your ally. For now, at least. What you seek is not what _I_ seek. Yet we can help one another, if you allow me to.”

Ansem got to his feet...and then some. Folding his arms across his chest, he levitated into the air. Behind him, the Makuta saw something emerge from the Shadows...a being of pure Shadow, in fact. It looked rather like he supposed he would, if his evolution continued and he transcended even his need for armour.

“Then speak, Makuta. And I will listen.”

Good, this was going to be a civilized chat. He hated it when lesser beings took things _personally_.

“I can sense that you had _something_ to do with these beings of Shadow...these _Heartless_ that have come to flood this world. I know they are not _natural_ beings. I wish to posses the secret you used to create them. In exchange, I shall help you find what it is you seek in this world. There are many beings of Light, many of whom might be said to be _pure_ , if such a word has any meaning. I could effortlessly provide them to you.”

Ansem smiled. “I do not simply seek a being of light. I seek a Heart of _pure_ Light. The Seven Princesses of Heart would be ideal, but I know that none of them are _here_. It is something truly exceptional, truly _rare_ to have a Heart filled with pure Darkness or pure Light. I am impressed that it seems _you_ are among the former.”

Makuta chuckled; it was a sound that would fill any sensible being with terror. “Indeed? I was always told I was _Heartless_.”

Ansem’s smile morphed into a malevolent smirk. “So was I.”

The Makuta considered the remark briefly, but then let his mind get to work formulating how to incorporate this unique new pawn into his ancient game. Quickly, something came to mind.

“The Mask of Light. It will find the Toa of Light; this being _will_ have a Pure Heart of Light, I can guarantee.” It was so utterly typical of these little contingency plans of his enemies to rely on such absurd concepts as _moral superiority_ that he knew without a doubt this Toa would have the Heart Ansem sought.

Ansem considered it. “Such an artifact sounds useful in its own way for my research and my plans. If you wouldn’t _mind_ , I’d like to keep it.”

“Even better; the further it is from this world, the better off my plans will be.” It was always nice to be able to remove any dangerous piece from the board. He was liking this Ansem; normally he had to actually _lie_ to manipulate others, or at least tell a half-truth. Destiny seemed to be smiling on both of them this day.

“Unfortunately, I suspect that outside this Chamber of Darkness I will lose this body. I shall need you to provide an agent capable of leading the Heartless- one whose heart is dark enough.”

The Makuta smiled, a sight to make a Toa’s blood run cold. He reached into his armor and pulled out a writhing, screeching slug. It was a Kraata, one of his spawn. A being made from pure shadows and as malevolent as he could be on his darkest day.

“I can give you _three_.”

* * *

Within a day, the party of heroes was ready to depart Ta-Koro. Already Pohatu had left, deciding to use his great speed to travel to each village and inform them of this great news. Gali had also left, apparently heading to some great temple to meditate on this recent event. Sora, Goofy, and Donald had spent the night awkwardly trying to sleep on stone beds- though at least, none of them felt sore in the morning. The benefit of being mostly metal, Sora figured.

They gathered up their gear- including food, which surprised Sora a bit- and got aboard a crab named Pewku (who like _everything_ on this island, was a weird, giant, biomechanical version of a regular thing. Had somebody _built_ as these weird things?). The five of them barely managed to fit on her, but they made do. Vakama saw them off, but mostly was giving his words of wisdom to Jaller. It made sense; Sora wasn’t from around here, and anyway he already knew what to do when he found the Keyhole.

Instead, it was Matoro who saw them off.

“Take care, Sora. It was nice to get to meet you! If you’re ever in Ko-Koro, we should try to meet up.”

Sora smiled. He liked Matoro; he’d heard the Ko-Matoran were cold and aloof, but Matoro wasn’t like that at all. He was shy, polite, and really nice. “It was great to meet you, too. I hope we can hang out again sometime.”

With that, the party of the Keyblade Wielder and the Herald of the Toa of Light headed out into Ta-Wahi. The whole time, Jaller and Takua quietly bickered over the Mask. At this point, even Sora could tell they were hiding something about it, but Sora wasn’t going to pry if they were THAT defensive of it.

The trip started out pretty uneventful, to Sora’s surprise. It was hours of travel through Ta-Wahi before anything happened, and all that _did_ happen was that they ran into the Toa Pohatu. He waved at them, said hello, and then sped off so fast he moved like a blur.

“Wow, he’s fast. Is that his Mask Power?” Sora felt he was starting to follow how this world worked; it sure had a lot more quirks to it than most of the others. It almost felt too complex, at least compared to the ones he'd seen so far.

“Yep. It’s why he likes to travel from village to village to spread messages. Of course, all the Toa Nuva each have a full set of their six great masks- but they tend to stick to their original ones.”

Sora nodded, absorbing the information. It was still a lot to take in, but at least it wasn’t enough to drive him crazy or anything.

The trip remained uneventful after that...until they reached the jungle area again, the region known as Le-Wahi. It was tough terrain for the crab, especially loaded down as she was. But more than that, Sora spotted something creeping in the darkness…

“Heartless!” He cried out, calling upon the Keyblade. “They’re all around us!”

Donald and Goofy got to their feet, Donald raising his staff and Goofy his shield. Sora leapt ahead of the others, swinging Kingdom Key through the horde with ease. He found himself slipping up and getting hit more often than before, though. The Heartless here were no tougher than anywhere else, but he was finding the biomechanical body almost as disorienting as his merman one.

_Not_ that _bad, though._ He thought, remembering with irritation how difficult it had been to get used to fighting in a full 3 dimensions. At least he still had legs. Putting those idle thoughts aside, he focused on whacking the Heartless. The rhythm of combat was a natural way for him to get back into himself, to get used to this strange form. It brought back memories of home, of practicing with his wooden sword against his friends; Tidus, Wakka, Kairi, Selphie…

_And Riku._ He hoped Riku was safe, wherever he was. Something was clearly wrong with him, and Sora didn’t know what. All he wanted was to help, but Riku kept pushing him away at every turn…

His thoughts were interrupted by a blow from a Large Body Heartless, and he recoiled. Shaking off his concerns about Riku, he drew his Keyblade and blocked the next blow. Swinging it around, he hit the being of Darkness across the face- causing it to dissolve and fade into nothingness. Around him, Donald and Goofy had held their own well enough. The Matoran weren’t able to contribute much in a fight, but Sora still noted with admiration that Jaller was doing his best to repel the Heartless from Pewku with his spear, and Takua kept taking potshots at whatever ones weren’t locked in melee with the trio.

Heartless kept pouring in, mindlessly attacking; Sora wondered if something was off about them, this time. The Heartless seemed less organized than they usually did. Oh sure they normally just attacked on instinct, but here their movements were almost totally random. Takua was able to hit so many because a bunch of them seemed to be just standing around, looking staggered. Maybe there wasn’t anyone to lead them, and they were just acting on instinct? Or maybe being so near the Mask of Light was disorienting to them.

Suddenly, a great laugh echoed out above them. In the sea of green that surrounded them, one green and silver blur stood out. Whatever it was, it flew down and descended on the Heartless, tearing through them like a whirlwind. Jaller and Takua cheered; whoever this was, they must be a friend.

The figure finally stopped flying around and stood still long enough for Sora to get a look at them; they were tall, like the three Toa they’d met before. But this one had a lightness about him that surprised Sora, coming from a being made mostly of metal. His mask was a deep green, and it was covered in fins like Pohatu’s. He carried two blades that carved through the air and left gusts of wind in their path so sharp they seemed to cut the Heartless to pieces from that alone. The remaining Heartless fled at his approach, and slinked back into the Shadows.

“It’s glad-fine to see you, Chronicler and Captain! What way-brings you to Le-Wahi? And what are these strange-new guests of yours?”

Sora cocked his head. This guy was _weird_. “We’re um...Sora, Goofy, and Donald. We’re helping Jaller and Takua on their quest.”

The Toa put his swords behind his back, and bowed theatrically. “Well it’s a happy-cheer thing to meet ya, Sora-friend. I’m Lewa, Toa-hero of Air!”

“Toa Lewa!” A voice called out. Sora and the others looked around, and saw a green Matoran in a bullet-shaped mask running after them.

“Kongu?” Jaller called out, apparently recognizing this stranger.

The Matoran almost jumped in surprise when he saw the assembled group. “Guard-Captain Jaller? Story-Chronicler Takua? And...weird-strange other folks? What are you all doing in Le-Wahi?”

“We were just explaining that,” Jaller began, “We’re on a quest,” He held up the Mask of Lightt, which shined brightly even in the dark jungle. “We’re using this to find the Seventh Toa, the Toa of Light!”

Lewa almost jumped in surprise. “What? A seventh Toa-Hero? And one of shine-light? Why is this the first I’m speech-hearing of this?”

“I don’t know. I hadn’t heard of any of this until the Turaga told us about it. But apparently this Toa will be really important in vanquishing Makuta. Right now we’re just following the path the Mask puts us on.” He spun it around a bit, showing how the glow dimmed significantly when not pointed in the direction they had already been traveling.

Kongu looked at it, curious. “That’s odd-strange indeed. Perhaps you should guide them through Le-Wahi, Toa-Hero Lewa. I’ll take word-news back to Le-Koro, so that they’ll know of all this.”

Lewa nodded enthusiastically. “That’s a sure-keen idea, Captain Kongu! I’d love to be a help-friend to our guests here! Let me way-guide you through Le-Wahi, at least!”

The Le-Matoran nodded, and headed back in the direction he’d come. Before he did, he turned again to look at Toa Lewa. “Make sure not to take ages-long! Le-Koro is still dealing with some Nui-Rama infestations! And you know what happened _last_ time we had to deal with the flying beasts!”

Lewa chuckled. “Don’t you sure-trust me? We’ll be happy-fine.”

Kongu just shook his head, and headed off into the jungle. He seemed much more serious than Sora had been led to think the Le-Matoran were. He was _definitely_ more serious than his own Toa was.

The Toa of Air turned back to the group. “So how about it, Guard-Captain? Will you let me be your way-guide?”

Jaller seemed to think it over, but he nodded. It made sense, Sora supposed; the Turaga wanted them to keep a low profile to avoid the Makuta, but just one Toa guarding them through his own region of the island should be easy enough. Indeed, with Lewa’s help, the trip was pretty smooth- even if the jungle was hot and thick and filled with all kinds of bugs. Sora thought, in annoyance, that being mostly machine should mean he didn’t get bitten by bugs anymore.

After several uneventful days of travel- mostly through a swamp, called the Fau Swamp- they came upon a cliff at the edge of the jungle. According to Lewa and the two Matoran, it led to the frozen part of the island; Ko-Wahi. Sora didn’t like the idea of visiting a frozen place, but decided to let it go and just accept that getting through it was part of eventually rescuing Kairi.

Lewa inspected the cliff, and Pewku. “Hmmm, it will be rough-hard to transport you and your Ussal up that path. Perhaps I could wrangle some Gukko birds...”

Suddenly, something rustled above. Sora looked up, and saw that a weird, creepy-looking green slug was crawling on a tree branch. Without warning, it creeped off the branch and landed right on Lewa’s mask. Reflexively, the Toa swiped at the thing with his blades and cut it in half- but Sora could see that something was wrong. Where the mask had been pure Green before, it was now growing pitted and cracked, and turning brown and rusted. Lewa’s normally yellow-green eyes started to turn red.

“Oh no,” Jaller said, backing away, “His Kanohi...it’s been Infected!”

Sora turned to Jaller, confused. “What...what does that mean?”

“It means he’s under Makuta’s control!” Takua shouted, running away and leading Pewku to follow. “Actually this isn’t the first time-”

He was cut off by Lewa screaming out and laughing wickedly. “Fools! I will kill you all!”

Sora scowled, and turned around. He brandished the Keyblade and stood his ground. “No way! I’m not going to let you get your hands on the Mask of Light, Makuta!”

The Infected Toa looked down on Sora, as if contemplating something momentarily. Whatever those thoughts, he drew his swords and swung them down. Sora managed to block the blow, but then found that it was only the first of many. One after another, the Toa of Air stuck a series of blows so fast Sora could barely understand how he was blocking them all.

While the Infected Toa was focused on Sora, Goofy charged at Lewa and knocked him over. Before the Trio could capitalize on this, he floated into the air and drew his blades to his sides. A gust of wind blew out behind him and lifted him into the air and in a circle around the three of them. From above, he swung his blades at them. Sora and Goofy managed to parry and block his blows, but Donald was left defenseless- and quickly rendered unconscious.

“Oh no, not again!” Goofy cried out. He narrowed his eyes at the Toa, and with an impressive leap charged up at him. To Sora’s surprise, he managed to land right on the Toa’s back. The Infected Toa reacted with confusion to this, and kept trying to swipe at Goofy- all he accomplished however was to disrupt his own flight enough to crash into a tree. With a characteristic holler, Goofy fell to the ground. The Toa, standing on a tree branch unsteadily after his collision, looked down at them contemptuously.

“Alright, little heroes. I will see to it that you die, now!” He flew down at them again, this time charging right for Goofy. Though the Captain of the Guard raised his shield, Lewa surprised him by drawing out his blades to either side pointed inward- just in time to strike at Goofy around his shield. Sora’s green friend fell to the ground, as unconscious as Donald.

That just left the Keyblade Wielder alone against the Corrupted Toa. Jaller and Takua hid with Pewku behind some trees and looked on in terror. Takua shouted out something to Sora.

“The Mask! Get the Mask off, and he’ll go back to normal!”

Sora nodded, and now focused his Keyblade blows on Lewa’s Infected Mask. Unfortunately, the Toa of Air was as nimble as his element, and though Sora scored plenty of good hits, none of them were at the mask. He decided to try backing Lewa up against the cliff wall, to reduce his mobility advantage. As he did so, he heard a quiet rumbling sound, but didn’t know what it was. Lewa seemed to ignore it, instead focusing on parrying Sora’s keyblade strikes. The Toa showed no signs of tiring-

-And then, to Sora’s astonishment, the wall behind him exploded in a shower of Earth. With amazing speed, a black-and-silver figure burst out and yanked the mask off of Lewa’s face. Now maskless, Lewa slumped to the ground and looked around weakly, seeming confused. The black-masked figure inspected the mask...and then looked down at Sora.

“I see Lewa has been putting things on his face he shouldn’t. Again.” The black-masked figure sighed, and then placed two odd-looking tools behind his back. They looked like a hybrid of chainsaws and treads, to Sora. He extended a hand to Sora. “My name’s Onua. Toa of Earth.”

Sora accepted the shake from the friendly-seeming Toa. “Does he make a habit of that?” Sora asked, as Donald and Goofy returned to consciousness.

Onua shrugged. “I wouldn’t say _that_. It’s more that he’s had some pretty awful luck with them.” He looked down at Lewa, who seemed only half-conscious. He inspected the Infected Mask again.

“Strange. I didn’t think the Makuta made infected Kanohi Nuva. How did this get on you, Brother?”

Lewa looked up at Onua, and smiled weakly. “A bit of bad-awful luck, that. Some slug-snake,” he said, pointing to the two halves of the dead slug-thing that had fallen from above them, “Fell from air-high and landed on my Mask. That’s _my_ Toa-Hero Mask of Power, and now look at it.”

Onua nodded, and looked down at the bisected little monster. “Haven’t seem something like _that_ before...” Gingerly, the Toa of Earth picked the two halves up and put them in one of his mechanical body’s many storage compartments. Sora marveled at how easily these biomechanical creatures could store whatever they wanted on their bodies; at first, it had looked more like they just put things behind their backs and vanished into thin air.

“Oh, now what will I do, Earth-Brother Onua? I am weak-useless without my mask.” Lewa stood, definitely with a lot more effort than he’d needed to use before.

Onua cocked his head. “Don’t you have _five_ other masks you could summon at any time, though? You know, those masks we spent a great deal of time trying to find together?”

“Well...yes,” Lewa began, hesitantly, “But none of them are _my_ mask, my Great Mask of Levitation! Without it, I cannot air-fly! What kind of Toa-Hero of Air will I be if I have to ground-walk everywhere?”

“Excuse me,” Sora said quietly, stepping forward and holding his Keyblade, “I could try something. If you’d just hand me that mask?”

Onua and Lewa looked at him. Onua looked a bit uncertain, but relented and handed Sora the Infected Mask. Holding his keyblade awkwardly in one hand, he pressed it to the Mask and drew upon the Light within to purify it of whatever Darkness had filled it. To the Toa and Sora’s surprise, it actually worked; Light poured out from the Keyblade, purifying and cleansing Lewa’s mask until all the rust and pittings on it had melted away, and it was once again a vibrant green color.

Lewa yipped in delight, and took the Mask from Sora. Putting it back on his face, he let out a sigh of relief and floated into the air. With a great happy howl, he Levitated into the air and flew around in the air on summoned wind currents for a bit, and then landed again.

“Well done, Sora-friend!” He placed a hand on Sora’s shoulder. “What is that Light-Key of yours? It looks like it’d be a fine-good weapon against the Makuta!”

“It’s a Keyblade! It um...it’s a really useful weapon against Darkness.” Sora hesitated to tell them any more of what he knew, especially with the exasperated look Donald was giving him now.

Onua inspected the key. “Curious. I’d heard from Pohatu that someone was accompanying the Chronicler and the Herald, but I didn’t know he had such an interesting tool at his disposal.”

At the mention of Pohatu, Sora was curious. “So, wait...Pohatu _ran_ all the way here already?”

Onua chuckled softly. “Oh no, little one. He ran all the way to _Onu-Koro_ , at the far northern end of the island. He’s already been through Le-Wahi all the way to Ko-Koro. Right now he’s probably on his way back to his own village in the far north to tell them the good news about the Mask of Light.”

Sora marveled at how fast the Toa had run; based off the map that the Turaga had showed him of the island and how far they’d traveled just to get to this point, this island was by _no_ means small, but with his speed Pohatu had run all the way across the island in, at most, a few days.

“Well that is good-fine news then, Brother! I had meant to take our friend Sora here up to Ko-Wahi, since that’s where his Mask is bright-shining! But we weren’t sure how to take his Ussal-friend up there.” He pointed to Pewku, who had come out to approach the Toa along with Jaller and Takua.

Onua smiled. “I think I know how we can get them up there...”

Sora would never forget the experience of riding on Toa Lewa’s back, taking turns with Donald, Goofy, Jaller, and Takua to get them all up the cliff. Even more than that though, his mind boggled at the sight of Toa Onua effortlessly carrying the enormous crab strapped to his back with him up the cliff face, making it all the way up before Lewa had even finished ferrying the trio and the Matoran up there.

“Looks like I win our little race, Lewa!” Onua said, grinning as he sat the anxious-looking crab down on the snowy clifftop.

“That’s no true-fair competition, Onua! You only had to carry one, I had to carry five!”

Onua laughed. “True, but mine weighed more than all of yours put together!”

The two Toa shared a laugh. It really fascinated Sora how well those two got along; he would've thought that having opposing elements would make them conflict, but instead it seemed like Earth and Air really were as close as Brothers. Suddenly, a question occurred to him.

“Hey, can I ask you two something? Are you really Brothers?” Sora wondered if these creatures even _had_ mothers and fathers and siblings. They didn’t seem to mention them, and as far as he could tell only the Ga-Matorans were female, when all the others were male.

The Toa exchanged a puzzled look. “Of course we are. Lewa is my brother as sure as Mata Nui is the Great Spirit. I would trust him with my life- and have, in the past.”

Sora shook his head. “No no, I don’t mean like...like your _like_ brothers. I mean _are_ you brothers? Like you have the same mother and father?”

“What’s a father, friend-Sora?” Lewa asked, looking at Sora like he was babbling in tongues, “I have never heard this strange-talk before.”

“You know, like...the ones who um, made you and raised you?” Sora felt himself blushing; he didn’t really know quite _how_ mothers and fathers _made_ children yet, and felt awkward trying to explain that to beings who were _definitely_ much older than him.

Understanding seemed to dawn on Onua’s face. “Oh, you mean...who built us? Truthfully, we don’t know. We don’t know if we were always Toa, or used to be something else...and we don’t know about our pasts before we came here to Mata Nui.”

“It seems a strange-weird thing to me, to wonder where us Toa-heroes came from anyway! We’re here now, and we’ll be here forever-always!”

The Keyblade wielder sighed, figuring that was the best answer he’d get out of them. “Fair enough. So um, what happens now?” He looked behind them, at the vast expanse of ice and snow that lay before them.”

“Well, we can keep way-guiding you a bit at...least...” Lewa trailed off, and then seemed to turn his head around at something behind them. Sora could hear the faint sound of drums pounding in the distance, but it didn't _sound_ like a pattern to him. “The drums of Le-Koro! They’re telling a sorry-bad tale.”

Jaller looked concerned. “Kongu once told me some of the drum beats. I recognize a few things… ‘Danger’, ‘Sadness’… ‘Ta-Koro’?” Horror dawned on the Guard Captain’s face. “What happened?!”

The normally eternally cheerful Toa of Air’s face darkened, as Onua, the two Matoran, and the Trio gathered around him. “I will tell you...but it will not fill you with glad-cheer...”

* * *

Rahkshi were simple creatures, normally. Intelligent enough, yes- they had to be or else they’d be of little use to the Makuta who spawned them. But these three were no ordinary Rahkshi; created by the Makuta for the express purpose of capturing the Mask of Light and its Herald, the Kraata slugs within them that guided and animated them were a stage beyond what most Kraata could become. They were _Shadow_ Kraata; malevolent purple slugs who could do more than simply Infect a Kanohi upon contact. They had power, and cunning enough to speak the language of the Matoran, though they rarely chose to.

Right now, Lerahk, the green-armored Rahkshi of Poison, was leading his brothers in their flight towards Ta-Koro. Here the Mask of Light had been found, and it was this village they must attack. Unusually though, the Makuta had not sent them alone; strange creatures of darkness he had called ‘Heartless’ followed them where they went. Though initially the Lerahk and his brothers had been confused, they understood when they observed that the Heartless obeyed their mental commands without question. They were useful servants, beings of a Shadow much like their own.

With this Army of Shadows in tow, the Rahkshi approached the fortress village of Ta-Koro from the air. Lerahk directed his brothers to attack different parts of the city. Panrahk, the brown-armored Rahkshi with power of Fragmentation, was sent to fly over the walls and start blasting them from behind to open up pathways for their Heartless to swarm the city. Guurahk, blue-armored Rahkshi of Disintegration, was to hunt down the Turaga that led these helpless villagers and interrogate him about the Mask of Light.

Lerahk, naturally, saved the most exciting task for himself; find any Toa in the city, and _kill_ them. When he flew over the walls of the city, screaming Ta-Matoran fleeing him in terror, he soon got half of his wish. The foolish and arrogant Toa Tahu was there, ready to fight and to die for his city. Lerahk was of course all too happy to oblige him. At first Tahu managed to hold his ground against the Son of Makuta, holding him off with a barrier of fire and even managing to hit him a few times with his burning blades.

Unfortunately for the poor deluded Toa, Lerahk had a surprise for him; with a wave of his staff, he managed to dissipate the flames. A single Toa was no match for any Shadow Rahkshi, not even a Toa _Nuva_. With sadistic glee, Lerahk tackled Tahu and bludgeoned him with his staff, envenoming the spirit of Fire with his deadly toxins. Lerahk prepared for a killing blow- but was denied, when Tahu’s Sister Gali blasted him with a jet of water and sent him flying.

Lerahk prepared to attack again, but then relented when Guurahk sent him a psychic message that the Mask of Light and the Herald had both left the city. The Toa could wait; the Mask of Light could not. With his brothers and their army of Heartless in tow, the Rahkshi flew off from the city and followed the scent of light. Before they left though, Panrahk had blasted away at the support structures holding the city up out of the lava that surrounded it. That was a decent consolation; even if the Toa managed to evacuate all the Ta-Matoran, their precious home would be destroyed no matter what.

With one village crossed off the list, the Rahkshi flew off into Ta-Wahi and followed the trail of sickening light they could smell all too well. Mingled with the Mask was a strange, other scent...the scent of a more _foreign_ Light. The Heartless, interestingly, seemed to know it much better than the Rahkshi. Lerahk allowed them to take the lead; it would be interesting to see what these creatures could do.

Soon enough the Mask of Light would be theirs, and their father would have his final triumph. Then all the wretched Light that filled this world would be destroyed, and the Matoran would be cast into an everlasting darkness where the Rahkshi could hunt to their hearts’ content. It was a thought that would’ve made a Rahkshi smile, if it could.

* * *

“No...” Jaller said weakly, as Lewa finished his tale, “It _can’t_ be, Ta-Koro _can’t_ be gone!”

“I am sorry, Matoran-friend. Your village has been death-buried by the lava that once grew-fed it.” He bent down to the Matoran. “I will tell you what I can do; I will quick-fly to your village, and give what help-aid I can.”

Onua crossed his arms across his chest. “These Rahkshi...I can’t leave Onu-Koro unguarded while they’re on the loose.” He looked at Sora. “Do you think you can keep the Herald safe while you look for this Seventh Toa and the...what was it you called it again, the Great Hole?”

“The Keyhole,” Sora corrected, “And yeah. Turaga uh...Vakama, he asked us to keep a low profile anyway. Didn’t want to have any Toa with us. He said that might draw the Makuta’s attention to our location.”

The Toa of Earth nodded sagely. “Then it’s agreed. I will take the underground pathways onward to Onu-Koro, and Lewa will visit Ta-Koro to provide what aid he can. Meanwhile, you five will continue on your quest to find what you seek.”

Jaller saluted. “I won’t let you down, Toa Onua. And neither will Takua.” He looked over at his blue-masked friend, who was looking despondent at the news about his home.

“Right,” Takua said, hesitantly, “I won’t...I won’t let what happened to Ta-Koro happen anywhere else.”

With that, the Toa said their goodbyes and departed. Lewa flew back down the cliff he had just taken the five travelers up, and Onua through a nearby cave mouth that apparently led to his own underground village. Their temporary guardians gone, Sora and the others trudged off into the icy wastes the Matoran called Ko-Wahi...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that exchange between Ansem and Teridax? Yeah. 90% of the reason for this fic's existence, right there.
> 
> It's pretty obvious at this point I'm deviating in a bunch of ways from Mask of Light, but well that was half the point of this one. I had always found it a little unsatisfying how that arc had been- at least, as far as the novella and animated adaptations went- really, really focused on Takua. (And characterizing him in a way that is not ENTIRELY in keeping with other stuff.) Anyway, I hope you'll bear with my self-indulgent desire to rewrite canon in this crossover fanfic. 
> 
> For Kingdom Hearts fans who are starting to feel a little lost, I suggest you go to BS01 (Bionicle Sector 01) and look up any proper nouns that are confusing you. It's a great resource. Fair warning though; if you thought YOUR series was complicated...


	3. A Heart of Ice

After an hour or so of this, Sora found the cold start to overwhelm him. Jaller seemed to be taking it worst of all, badly shivering after a brief while out in the snow. Takua and Goofy were managing alright, as was Pewku- though the poor crab didn’t seem to be _enjoying_ it one bit. Donald, strangely, was completely unfazed by it.

“Come on, you guys!” He said, moving ahead. “We’ve gotta find that Keyhole!”

Through chattering metallic teeth, Jaller replied. “A-and the S-seventh Toa, d-don’t forget that!”

Donald didn’t respond. Sora wasn’t convinced he _cared_ much about this quest Jaller and Takua were on; he’d generally been apathetic to the fate of individual worlds, and it rubbed Sora the wrong way. Goofy at least seemed to take this sort of thing seriously. What the Captain of the Royal Guard lacked in raw intelligence, he more than made up for in compassion.

Eventually the five of them found a cave to take shelter in while night fell on Ko-Wahi, bringing an even greater level of cold. With some wood from Le-Wahi they’d stored in Pewku’s pack and a fire spell from Donald, they set up a decent little campfire to keep themselves warm. Sora kept noting the way Jaller and Takua were trading nervous glances, and decided to ask them about it.

“Hey, so...I noticed um, that you guys are kinda arguing about something? What is it?”

Jaller let out a sigh, and looked at Takua. “ _He_ found the Mask, not me. _He’s_ the Herald, but he’s shirking his Duty and wants _me_ to do it instead!”

Takua raised his hands defensively. “It’s not like that, Jaller! The mask shined at you, _you’re_ the Herald! You heard Turaga Vakama, it doesn’t matter that I found it!”

Jaller snorted as he pulled the Mask back out. “Oh _yeah_? Then explain _this_!” He shoved the golden Mask into Takua’s hands. Immediately, the already glowing mask turned its brightness up even higher, such that Sora had to narrow his eyes at first.

“It...it just likes me, I guess.” Takua said, putting the Mask down on the ground, where it resumed its fainter glow.

“Gawrsh,” Goofy said, looking thoughtful, “I didn’t know Masks had feelings. I guess I’ll be more careful next Halloween.”

Donald looked up at Goofy in mild irritation, and Sora just _knew_ he wanted to tell him to stop it with references to things these people might not have heard of. Fortunately, the two Matoran didn’t seem to have noticed.

“Normally, they don’t,” Jaller said, pointing to his yellow mask, otherwise identical to Goofy’s, “But that one is special. It’s part of a Prophecy, and it’s got special properties. Turaga Vakama told me it was made by a legendary mask-maker called Artakha.”

Donald perked up in the seat suddenly, at the mention of Artakha. “What? He’s here?!”

The Ta-Matoran looked at Donald, very puzzled. “Well...no? He lived in the Time Before Time, he doesn’t exist anymore. Nothing really does, beyond Mata Nui. At least that’s what the Turaga tell us.”

Sora frowned. That had sounded a lot like the lies his parents had told him about the Destiny Islands, when he was _really_ young. Eventually they’d told him the truth; that other islands existed and that there was a big beautiful world out there. It was learning that after so much time cooped up on just a few islands that made Sora _desperately_ seek adventure somewhere else.

“Oh. Right, of course.” Donald said, looking away from the Matoran. He was hiding something, and badly. But Sora didn’t want to pry, and the Matoran didn’t seem to notice. Only Goofy was looking skeptically at him. Nevertheless, the Captain said nothing and just laid back down, dozing off. It was a good time for that, Sora thought- and he and the others gradually went to sleep.

And so none of them were awake to see Takua looking at the mask in the middle of the night, filled with strange feelings of familiarity he couldn’t name.

The next morning, the five of them gathered their things together and made their way out back into the icy wastes. While the sun was certainly warming things up more than they had been last night, the snowfall was heavy and the wind was strong. Pewku could barely make her way through it, and Goofy was holding his shield up to block the snow from getting in his face.

“How much further until Ko-Koro?” Sora asked, begging the village of the Ko-Matoran was near. He desperately sought any kind of break from this freezing cold.

“Uh…a lot further!” Jaller said, not sounding totally sure himself. “Probably, anyway!”

Sora grumbled under his breath, wondering why these guys didn’t have cars or planes or anything if they were super-advanced robot people. It didn’t make sense to him, the more he thought about it; if these guys didn’t occur naturally, then they had to be built, right? And if they were built, wouldn’t there be technology and stuff around them that helped to build them? Instead these guys were lower tech than the Destiny Islands, and _Sora_ certainly didn’t know how he’d start building a bio-mechanical person _there_.

His thoughts were disrupted by the sight of something ahead of them. They were odd-looking things; bigger than the Matoran, but less humanoid and more blocky. Each of them had short, stubby legs and short arms with weird shields attached to them. They didn’t seem to be moving much, but that might’ve just been the snow blocking his view.

“Takua, what’re those?” Sora asked, yelling to be heard over the snowstorm.

The Chronicler looked ahead...and gasped in horror. “Ahhh! Bohrok!”

“Those things that tried to destroy the whole island?!” Sora asked, horrified. He thought that Takua said all of them had gone back to sleep when their queens, the ‘Bahrag’ or whatever, had been sealed away by the Toa.

“Yes! Run!” Takua said, turning around and fleeing. Jaller hesitated only briefly, but then joined his friend- evidently the Bohrok were something far too dangerous for them to handle. Sora and his friends wordlessly decided it was better to stick with the Matoran, and then ran around-

-and slammed headlong into something tall and metallic. Rubbing his masked forehead, Sora looked up and saw a strange figure standing in the snow. It was hard to see, mostly white and silver and thus blended in perfectly into this icy wasteland. All he could clearly make out was a strange blue eye inspecting him curiously. It let out a mechanical whirring as it rotated and telescoped. The figure swung its right arm around, and a blue-white glow emanated from the two-headed spear it held in its hand. At once, the blizzard ceased; and Sora could see with relief that this was another one of the Toa.

“Kopaka! Toa of Ice!” He heard Jaller call out as the two Ta-Matoran approached and inclined their heads. “Look out, there’s some...Bohrok...”

Jaller’s voice trailed off, and when Sora turned around to look at the Bohrok he could see that they were, in fact, frozen solid.

“I know.” The white-masked Toa said dryly. Without another word, he started off walking in the direction the mask had already been pointing.

Sora and the others hurried to catch up. “Why were you following us around?” Sora asked, confused.

“It was _you_ that were following _me_ ,” Kopaka said coolly, not even deigning to turn around. “And now you’re following me again.”

This Toa of Ice was cold...though Sora guessed that shouldn’t have been so surprising. All the Toa had personalities that fit their elements, more or less; Tahu was bold and aggressive, like Fire. Lewa was cheerful and energetic, like Air. Onua was sturdy and quiet, like Earth. This Kopaka guy was cold and aloof, like Ice. Pohatu was kind of an odd fit; Sora wouldn’t normally think of Stone as warm and friendly, but he guessed it made sense for someone from a warm desert, like Pohatu was. Then there was Gali; compassionate and gentle, like Water.

_And like Kairi,_ Sora thought sadly, remembering his missing friend. Her name had something to do with water, he remembered. He wondered if she came here, would she become a Toa of Water? Or a Ga-Matoran, since she was his age?

His thoughts were disrupted by Kopaka speaking again. “Pohatu visited Ko-Koro already and told me about your quests. While you’re in Ko-Wahi, stick with me. I’m not going to let you five blunder around until the Makuta catches you...especially not with the Rahkshi on the loose.”

Sora was surprised. “How did you already hear about those?”

“Onua stopped by Ko-Koro on his way home. He doesn’t talk much, so the fact he spent five whole minutes telling me all he knew about them is enough to know this is serious.”

That made sense. Though again, Sora was surprised and confused that the Toa all seemed to be able to move so fast on their own, when it was taking them days and days to just get from one village to another.

“If that’s wracked your brain, remember that each of us has a Mask of Speed like Pohatu's,” Kopaka said, as if reading Sora’s mind, “The only reason I’m not going as fast as I can _now_ is because I need to keep an eye on all of _you_.”

“Oh, uh...Ok. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, it’s my Duty. Just like it’s yours.”

With that, the six of them made their way through the snowy wastes of Ko-Wahi in relative calm...for a while. Suddenly, as they neared Ko-Koro, Kopaka stopped. Sora heard the whirring and clicking of his mask, which he remembered was a Mask of X-Ray vision. Apparently that also meant he could see really, really far.

“No...they’re here! Get down!” He swung his Ice Blade into the ground and raised up a shield of ice. The two Matoran and Pewku took cover behind it. The Toa of Ice turned to look at Sora, Goofy, and Donald. “Can you three fight?”

Sora summoned his Keyblade and adopted his best ‘serious hero’ face. “Yeah, I can.” In turn, Donald and Goofy drew their staff and shield.

Kopaka seemed skeptical, but nodded. “Then follow me.” With no apparent effort, he shifted his mask to one like Toa Tahu’s, except white. The trio followed behind him out from behind the safety of the Ice Wall, and onto the frozen snowbank before them. Immediately, a blast of blue energy shot out- but Kopaka generated an energy shield around them that took the shot. Unfortunately, it clearly strained the Toa of Ice quite a bit to block it, and he staggered backwards as the shield flickered out of existence.

Flying out at them from the white void of ice and snow were three nightmarish creatures; each looking like a serpent attached to the body of a taller, more powerfully-built Toa, and holding a staff at their sides. Glowing red eyes peered out from slit-like eyes. These had to be the monsters called ‘Rahkshi’- and they were flying right at them. One was Green, and taking the lead. At each of its flanks were two other Rahkshi, one Blue and one Brown. Sora felt his blood chill as they approached...and then his heart sank when he saw that they weren’t alone. Hordes of Heartless- Shadows and Large Bodies, mostly- were following behind the Rahkshi.

“Oh no, they’ve got Heartless with them!” Sora cried out.

Kopaka briefly looked at him in confusion, but said nothing as he drew his shield and double-headed ice blade. The Toa of Ice shot out a blast of cold energy at the Rahkshi- but the monsters evaded it casually. The Heartless around them weren’t so lucky, though; all the ones unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast were frozen solid. Sora was really impressed, since even his or Donald’s strongest Blizzard attacks couldn’t take out _that_ many Heartless in one shot.

The Rahkshi closed the gap first, and split to focus on different targets. The green one zeroed in on Kopaka, who got into a sword-on-staff fight with it. The brown one rammed itself into Goofy, who managed to get himself off and slam into its side with his shield. The blue one then flew towards Sora. He drew up his Keyblade...and the beast _hissed_ and reared up in rage or maybe fear at the sight of it.

Grimacing, Sora swung the blunt pole of his Keyblade into the Rahkshi’s face- but the creature parried the blow with its staff. Dashing around it, Sora swung and smacked its torso from the side, and saw the creature recoil in surprise and pain. Realization dawned; they were made by Makuta, and he was a being of Darkness (Or 'Shadow', as the Matoran kept calling it). Evidently the Light of his Keyblade was something these monsters didn’t like! Not letting up his assault, Sora kept swatting at the thing and tried to take it down. Though it managed to block a few blows, with each hit Sora could tell he was obviously doing some major damage.

Unfortunately, his allies weren’t doing so well; Goofy, though holding his own, was struggling to dodge the explosive blasts the Rahkshi was firing at him. Donald was supporting his old friend as best he could with his magic, but the Rahkshi didn’t seem to take much damage from Fire, Ice, or Lightning. It was only when Donald shot out a potent Gravira spell at the Rahkshi that it reacted. It recoiled in pain, and stood there vulnerable to Goofy’s repeated bashes with his shield.

To Sora’s surprise, the Toa was doing worst of all; the Rahkshi’s speed and strength were clearly overwhelming him, and he was struggling to avoid the poisonous blasts the thing shot out. Eventually, he fell over to a slap from the Rahkshi’s staff, which left a mark of green venom on his chest and knocked him to the ground. The Rahkshi made a cruel, low sound that might’ve been a laugh, and raised its staff for a killing blow.

“No!” Sora called out, and smacked the blue Rahkshi aside to focus on the Green one. He charged heedless of danger to save the Toa. Slamming its side with his Keyblade, he knocked the Rahkshi to the ground. He then lifted the Toa’s arm over his shoulder and dragged him off. It wasn’t easy, since the Toa was seven feet tall and mostly metal- but he managed to at least get him some distance from the fighting.

“No...don’t save me...focus on protecting the Mask!” The Toa of Ice said weakly, looking up at Sora.

Sora shook his head. “I can’t let _anyone_ get hurt! That’s _my_ Duty!”

The Toa smiled up at him faintly. “You sound like Pohatu...stupid...” The light in his eye faded, and the Toa seemed to drift off to sleep. The light still glowing over his heart and the slow rising and falling of what musculature he did have in his chest suggested the Toa was still alive for now at least. Satisfied that Kopaka was at least _relatively_ safe, Sora spun around back into the fray.

He couldn’t have arrived a moment too soon; Donald was once again incapacitated and Goofy was struggling to hold off the brown and green Rahkshi at once. To make matters worse, the blue one was now making its way across the snow and sniffing out wherever Jaller and Takua had hidden themselves. Left with a sadistic choice, Sora decided to focus on saving his new friends first.

The Keyblade wielder charged across the snowbank, and knocked the blue Rahkshi to the ground. It hissed at him, and pointed its staff up at him. Thinking fast, Sora hooked the head of the staff around his Keyblade and pointed it away from him. The blue beam that shot out exploded behind them...and Sora saw that it had just disintegrated a rock that was holding up some snow behind them all. The three Rahkshi, Sora, Goofy, and Donald all stared up dumbfounded as a wave of snow careened towards them and swept them all aside.

It was a harrowing, terrifying experience; Sora couldn’t see at all, nor could he hear anything but the roar of the avalanche. He felt freezing daggers stabbing into him all over from the sheer coldness of the snow, and felt like he was getting nauseous as he got spun around by the force of the avalanche. It was almost a relief when he slammed into some icy hard ground and managed to crawl out of the deep snow before it consumed him. Ahead of him, he saw a lake- surprisingly unfrozen aside from a few chunks of ice floating on it. Also near the lake were Jaller and Takua, who along with Pewku had been clearly knocked there by the avalanche. Sora looked around for his friends; he let out a sigh of relief when he saw Goofy poke his head out from the snow, looking none the worse for wear. Briefly he struggled to find Donald...and then had to suppress a laugh when he saw the duck’s rear sticking up in the air as his legs flailed about and his angry shouts were muted by the snow surrounding him.

Unfortunately his relief didn’t last; before he could go to pull Donald and Goofy out of the snow, there was an ear-splitting screech as the three Rahkshi burst out from the snow. To make matters worse, a bunch of Heartless had followed them down the slope and were coming towards the group from the other direction. Sora gritted his teeth and drew his keyblade, ready to fight to his last breath if he had to.

He then heard a voice cry out, and saw a glint of golden light. The Rahkshi turned and hissed, and Sora saw too what they were looking at; Takua, holding the Mask of Light aloft and shouting out at them.

“Hey, ugly, uglier, and ugliest! You want the Mask, come and get it!” He was sitting in the middle of the lake atop what Sora recognized as Kopaka’s shield. Jaller wasn’t with him, and Sora briefly worried the Ta-Matoran was hurt or something. The Rahkshi flew out over the water towards the Matoran, extending their arms to grab at him-

-And then all three were shot by icicles that seemed to fly out of nowhere! Their concentration disrupted, the three of them fell out of their flight stances and into the water. Out of the corner of his eye, Sora then saw the flash of something pale blue by the lake’s edge. A wave of cold shot out across it, and flash-froze the water with the Rahkshi inside! Before they could fly out, the three monsters were totally encased in ice. Sora’s heart soared when he saw where the ice had come from; Toa Kopaka, alive after all, lying by the side of the lake with his ice blade half stuck in the now-frozen water.

“Good job following the plan, Chronicler!” Kopaka called out weakly to Takua.

Sora smiled. “Toa Kopaka! You’re alive!”

“Not for long if you don’t get these Heartless.” he shouted out, sounding pained by his injuries.

Sora nodded his understanding, and charged at the Heartless that had charged down the slope. Though it was tough work without Donald’s spells, Goofy managed to join him and the two of them bashed and bludgeoned the Heartless away. Eventually all the creatures of darkness lay defeated; vanished back into nothingness, or frozen in the lake. Goofy and Donald went to help Toa Kopaka to his feet and heal him, respectively. Seeing that his friends had the Toa of Ice well taken care of, Sora went to go check on the Matoran and Pewku.

Jaller rode Pewku out from an outcropping he’d been hiding under, and waved at Sora. Sora waved back as he walked gingerly across the frozen lake to Takua, who pulled the Toa’s shield out of the ice. He looked up at Sora, his mask askew.

“That was really brave, Takua!” Sora said, before helping Takua straighten out his mask.

“Hey, even I get lucky sometimes.” Takua said, chuckling.

“Not luck,” Kopaka’s cool voice said, warmer than usual, as he walked up from behind them, “It’s what you _do_ that makes you a hero.” The Toa of Ice was smiling at Takua and Sora. It was clear to Sora now that, despite his cold demeanor, this Toa didn’t have a Heart of Ice. Rather, his heart was filled with Light like all the other Toa. He was kind of like Riku, he guessed; he'd built up walls to defend himself, but he wasn't _bad_ or anything. He just wasn't really good with people.

The six of them and Pewku all gathered near the lake’s edge, and made their way back towards Ko-Koro. Sora noticed a very strange look in Takua’s eye after all this, and noted he’d been very quick to hand the Mask back to Jaller. Eventually they made it to the ice village; it had been attacked by the Rahkshi, but evidently not as badly as Ta-Koro since it was at least still _here_. Inside they were greeted by a small mob of laconic Ko-Matoran, along with their Turaga Nuju and…

“Matoro!” Sora said happily, walking up to the introverted translator and giving him a hug. “It’s good to see you again!”

“Good to see you too, Sora! I was so worried when we heard about what happened to Ta-Koro. Then the Rahkshi showed up, and we thought it was the end for us, too. Luckily Turaga Nuju held them off for a bit with his Telekinesis, and we pulled out our old Boxors to smack the Rahkshi away for a bit. Then the Heartless showed up...” The Ko-Matoran shuddered. “If you hadn’t gotten here in time, we would’ve been done for.”

Sora nodded, though he didn’t recognize the term Boxor. Then he noticed a few of the Ko-Matoran hopping out of exosuits that looked a bit like the Bohrok from before; the big, powerful-looking fists at their sides explained their name.

“He did well,” Kopaka said to Matoro, rubbing Sora’s head affectionately, “He’s small, but he packs a Boxor’s punch. Takua did a good job too- distracted those things at the right moment.”

Matoro looked over at Takua, who waved at the Ko-Matoran. Evidently the two of them were friends, but something was making Takua uncomfortable. Whatever it was, it’d have to wait; the five wayfarers and Kopaka had to sit down with Nuju and told the elder everything that had happened. Sora noted that Matoro seemed to stand stock still when translating, and wondered if he was trying to make himself as unnoticeable as possible. After an hour or so of talking, it was agreed that the group would stay in Ko-Koro for the night- which should be safe enough, with the Rahkshi defeated- and then head into the tunnels where the Mask seemed to be pointing, onward to the underground village of Onu-Koro.

The group was given a domed Ko-Matoran house to sleep in, and despite being made of ice it was decently warm and comfortable. Even though this was the first comfortable place to rest he’d had in days, Sora couldn’t sleep. His head was filled with worry about this quest they were on. This was by _far_ the longest they’d spent on this one world, and the more time they spent here, the less it seemed like the other worlds they’d visited. Too big, too full of its own little quirks...and all those strange comments about there being ‘Nothing beyond the Island’ made Sora _very_ suspicious about what lay across that blue sea.

Whatever it was, it would have to wait for the morning. Sora just hoped it wouldn’t get in the way of finding the Keyhole. He wondered about this Toa of Light they were looking for; the other Toa had had personalities to match their elements, but what would a Toa of Light be like? Light was weightless and free like air, but it was warm like Fire. His own experiences with Light had been very good, too; if there was an element he’d think was filled with kindness, it’d be Light. He hoped the Toa of Light would be kind; like his missing friend Kairi...or maybe like his new friend, Takua.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ok, I might've liked ONE scene from Mask of Light...
> 
> (Though I definitely didn't like how easily he dispatched the Rahkshi who had easily dealt with Tahu and Gali). My conceit of them being Shadow Kraata Rahkshi is my way of balancing out the ease with which weaker Toa, like the Toa Metru, deal with the Rahkshi at other points in the timeline.


	4. The Shadow Gazes Back

The Makuta paced in his lair. This hadn’t been going as planned; the Rahkshi had been defeated by a _single_ Toa. No, not just the Toa...the Keyblade Wielder had been with him. The one he’d seen approaching this world, the one that seemed so much like that strange Le-Matoran he’d met a thousand years ago back on Metru Nui. The one that had _also_ carried a Keyblade, though he did not know what it was at that time.

Also in Mangaia floated Ansem, who was looking impatiently at the Makuta. “What now? Your sons have been defeated, by just one Toa and one inexperienced Keyblade Wielder.”

The Makuta looked down at this bold creature, who stood in his lair and presumed to question him. Were it not for the mental barriers that hid so many parts of his mind from even the Makuta’s penetrating gaze, he would’ve pried the knowledge of the Emblem Heartless from his mind already. Unfortunately that option was not available to him; besides, doing so would mean he could not longer make use of this being’s power, and the Makuta was not one to waste a potentially valuable servant.

“Patience, Ansem. Those were but three of the Shadow Kraata I have at my disposal...I have three more, and these three shall do more than bring Shadows. They shall stir the Shadows in _their_ hearts.” At his command, three purple Kraata slithered out of the darkness of Mangaia and into three sets of prepared armor. Out of the pillars he had stored them in, three Rahkshi descended. Red-armored Turahk, black-armored Vorahk, and white-armored Kurahk.

“Hunger, to keep the Matoran from their Duty,” the Makuta said, motioning to Vorahk, “Anger, to break their Unity.” He continued, motioning to Kurahk. “And _fear_ to keep them from their _Destiny_.” He finished, pointing to Turahk. The Rahkshi stood at attention before their father, and awaited his orders.

Ansem examined them. “They have Darkness, yes...but that same Darkness has only made them vulnerable to the Keyblade this boy wields. They need more...some kind of _protection_ against it.”

The Makuta nodded. “Indeed. My unfamiliarity with the weapon is the only reason the first three were not better prepared for it.” With a wave of his hand, Shadows from Mangaia’s darkest corners flew out and were absorbed into the Rahkshi’s armor. Though their appearances didn’t change, they now had a palpable aura of Darkness around them.

“This Shadow armor shall protect them from the Light of the Keyblade...at least enough to prevent such a pathetic defeat as the first three suffered.”

Ansem examined them, and then waved his own hand and drew out some of the Darkness that surrounded them. A dark, pulsing orb floated in out of the void and had the Darkness coalesce around it. It was a phantom that resembled the Rahkshi...only _larger._ It snarled, staring out with cold, yellow eyes.

“And now a Heartless of greater power than any those three have faced before will aid them, as well...”

* * *

That morning in Ko-Koro, Sora was awoken by Jaller. The Captain of the Ta-Koro guard was up bright and early and used the light of the Mask to force Takua up and out of bed. The five of them said their goodbyes to Nuju, Matoro, and Kopaka. The Toa was going to stay here for a while, then try and meet up with Tahu and the others who had been at Ta-Koro to help them with the evacuation from the village. Privately, Sora wondered if they were also gathering together to fight something; sure, the Rahkshi were gone, but this Makuta sounded like he’d take more than just one Toa- even a Toa of Light- to take down. Maybe they were planning to help them out when they showed up.

At any rate, his path was clear; the Mask of Light shone in the direction of Onu-Koro, down the deep dark Onu-Koro highway. So the trio, the two Matoran, and Pewku descended into the Darkness. They were ready for whatever came at them. It was a good thing the mask was so bright; the place was completely pitch-black, barring a few spots with weird glowing crystals.

After about an hour of traveling, Takua hopped off Pewku and walked alongside Sora.

“Hey, Sora...if you don’t mind, I have some questions for you.”

Sora looked over at Donald, who didn’t seem like he could hear them. He liked his wizard friend, but Donald was _really_ strict about the rules about interfering with other worlds. He probably wouldn’t like it if Sora told Takua too much...but what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Well...I know you’re not from around here, and you don’t seem like you’re quite a Matoran.”

Sora nodded, hesitantly. “I’m...not. I’m something else, yeah. And I’m not from Mata Nui. I’m from another island really, really far away. It’s one of the Destiny Islands.”

Takua chuckled bitterly. “Destiny, huh? Yeah...the big one of the Three Virtues. I’m not really feeling great about my _destiny_ right now.”

“Why not? What’s so bad about your Destiny?”

The Matoran seemed uncomfortable, like he was _forcing_ himself to speak in spite of himself. “I get this feeling, like I’m coming up on my Destiny. But I keep getting this feeling that when I reach it...I won’t exist anymore.”

“You mean like...you’ll die?”

Takua shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe. It’s like, I can’t _see_ it, but I feel like I was _told_ it once, and part of me still remembers what I was told. It’s why I didn’t want to let people know I’m the Herald; I don’t _want_ to find the Seventh Toa.”

“But won’t the Seventh Toa help you all defeat Makuta? Isn’t that a good thing?”

“I mean yeah, it is. But that’s not why I’m afraid. I’m worried I’ll die or...or I’ll have to give up everything I am. Let me tell you something; none of us Matoran remember what existed before we came here. What things were like in the Time Before Time. The Turaga told us everything, but they never really told us how we knew. None of us can remember anything from before about a Thousand Years ago, and in all of our earliest memories our villages and stuff were already _built_.”

“Wait, wait,” Sora said, processing what Takua had just said, “You mean...you’re all at _least_ a thousand years old?!”

“Sure. Is that weird? How long do people live where you’re from?”

“Maybe a hundred years, at most! I thought you were my age, and I’m only fourteen!”

Now Takua was surprised. “You’re only fourteen years old?! Fourteen years ago the only things that were different were...well okay, a LOT has happened in the past year or so since the Toa arrived. But for MOST of the time it takes at least a good hundred years for anything _interesting_ to happen.”

They continued walking in a kind of awkward silence for a bit, but then Sora continued. “So um...leaving that aside, I guess; you were saying something about how none of you remember anything from the Before Time?”

The blue-masked Matoran nodded. “But sometimes I feel like I do remember things. Really small things that I’m not sure are real or not. I feel like we might’ve used to live somewhere else, I guess...or at least _I_ did. I know nobody else remembers anything from the Time Before Time, or at least none of them told me. I have this weird dream sometimes though; I dream that I used to live somewhere else, with other Matoran. Some of them...when some of them got old, they turned into _something_. I don’t remember what it was, but they stopped being themselves and...changed. And then disappeared. And everyone else thought this was totally normal, except me. They all called it their Destiny”

“And then you wake up?” Sora asked, confused where Takua was going with this.

“Yeah, then I wake up. I know it’s just a dream but...it felt so _real_. Point isn’t whether it’s real or not, anyway; point is that I’m _afraid_ of something like that happening to _me_ if I achieve it. If I achieve my Destiny.”

Sora nodded, understanding finally achieved. “So you want to avoid your Destiny, because you want to keep being you?”

Takua nodded. “Yeah. I _like_ existing. I like being the Chronicler, I like adventuring, I like being the one who’s always in the thick of things. I know a lot of them think I’m weird- even Jaller does, and he’s my best friend! I don’t mind it, though. I just...I want to keep being _me_.” He turned around, looking at the Mask of Light in Jaller’s hands, then turned away and kept speeding up until he was running ahead of the rest of the group. Concerned, Sora followed after him.

“Wait, Takua slow down!” Sora called out, and heard Jaller, Goofy and Donald cry out in alarm as well. Sora kept his eye on Takua as best he could in the darkness, and eventually caught up with the Matoran in a small cave lying by the side of the tunnel. He was standing stock still, facing away from Sora.

“There you are, I was worried...” Sora began...and then trailed off when he saw what Takua was staring at. A mass of darkness...and not the natural darkness that one found in these lightless caverns. Intense, advanced darkness that seemed to have a life of its own. Then, in the middle of it opened a pair of glowing red eyes.

“ _Takua_...” A deep, guttural voice called out, and Sora recognized it immediately from his dream before they had arrived on Mata Nui.

“Who...who’s there?” Takua asked, backing away from the shadow. Sora drew his Keyblade, and stepped defensively between Takua and the dark presence.

“ _Ahhh...you aren’t alone, I see. How typical of you, Chronicler, to depend on others to protect you. First your friend Jaller, then the Toa...and now this outsider to your island. What is next? A tamed Rahi? Perhaps you will program some_ Bohrok _to be your guardians?”_ He emphasized the word 'Bohrok', as if it had some special significance here. If it did, Takua didn't seem to recognize it.

“Leave him alone!” Sora cried out, trying to hit the darkness with his Keyblade- but his blade went right through, and slammed into the stone wall behind it uselessly.

“ _You cannot hurt me, Sora, for I am_ Nothing _._ _You come to this world, knowing nothing and achieving less._ _You do not belong here; leave, and I will spare the life of you and your companions. Stay, and you will only live to see all you hold dear destroyed.”_

Sora swallowed his rising fear, and stood his ground. “I don’t care what you say! I’m not abandoning anyone!”

Takua then stepped forward. “Stop, Sora...I’m not worth it. I don’t think I’ve _ever_ been worth it.” The Matoran turned to look at the presence. “What do you want, Makuta?”

So _this_ was the Makuta. That shouldn’t have surprised Sora, but still...he’d expected something more _physical._ This Shadow was so much worse than any Heartless; at least he could _fight_ those.

“ _Abandon your quest, Matoran. Surrender the Mask of Light and you will be spared, as will your friends. What is more...if you surrender yourself to my Sons or to the Heartless, I shall grant you a mercy you desire; freedom. I shall free you from the Destiny I have foreseen for you, and grant you a much grander one.”_

Takua backed away from the encroaching Shadow slowly. “What do you mean? What Destiny? What do you mean ‘grander one’?”

“ _You were right to fear your Destiny, for I have_ seen _it. You will cease to be, in order for this Seventh Toa to be found. Takua the Chronicler will be gone, forever._ _But if you surrender yourself, you will be spared this fate- you shall live, and be free of this accursed Destiny that has so gripped you. Instead, you shall be part of a grander quest that will take you far beyond this island where you have been confined for so long, and you shall always remain_ Takua. _”_

“He’s lying!” Sora cried out. “He’s got to be lying! How could he know what your Destiny is?”

Takua didn’t even seem to hear Sora. Indeed, the Shadows were all around them, constraining the two of them in ways Sora could only now sense or see. Every sound seemed muted, except for the baleful sound of his heart beating in fear.

The Matoran looked at the dark creature. Then, to Sora’s horror, he nodded his assent. “Fine. I…I give up. I’ll give myself up, if Jaller and the others won’t be hurt.”

The monster almost seemed to smile. _“A wise decision. You have my word that none of your friends shall be unduly harmed, provided you do not go back on your word. Go down to the tunnels beneath Onu-Koro, to the_ _abandoned protodermis mine_ _there. There you shall find an agent of mine. Give yourself up to them, and I will spare your friends.”_

Takua seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then nodded. “I’ll do it.” He then turned around, and headed down the tunnel him and Sora came down...but went the opposite way from his friends. Sora tried to run, to try and stop Takua and save him from himself- but found he couldn’t move. He was restrained by these shadows. With Takua gone, the red eyes of Makuta turned on Sora.

_“You should thank him, little_ human _. Yes, I know what you are. I know from whence you came, and I know what you seek. Know this; the Light in your Keyblade is_ nothing _against my Shadows._ _And I am_ nothing _like the posturing, arrogant fools you have defeated before. Even that so-called Mistress of All Evil you are hunting down is like an angry child throwing a tantrum next to my power.”_

Sora tried to speak, to offer a rebuttal, but found he couldn’t. He was trapped in these Shadows, helpless under the Makuta’s withering gaze.

“ _It amuses me so...that one so weak and small should be chosen by an instrument of such power. It amuses me more that it should happen_ twice _, and that those two should meet. You are not so different from Takua, Sora; you are in the grip of forces beyond your ken, and you will never overcome them._ _The only difference between you and him is that he was_ truly _chosen by the Mask of Light...where you will_ never _be worthy of that Keyblade.”_

Before Sora could even try to ask what the Makuta meant, the Shadows finally began to dissipate and fade. He felt the suffocating force around him lessen, until the red eyes vanished into the darkness and he was free.

He ran out after Takua...but his friend was gone, and without a light source of his own Sora would just get lost in this endless maze of shadows. Instead, he turned around where he and Takua had come from, to meet up with the others. To his enormous relief, they weren’t that far away. Donald and Goofy were arguing over something (Ice cream, from the sound of it) and Jaller was leading Pewku ahead, a determined look in his eyes.

Goofy and Donald shouted in joy when Sora arrived, and ran up to hug him. He hugged back, and then quickly pulled out of the hug to walk up to Jaller.

“Sora, where’s Takua? Did you get separated?”

“You could say that, yeah. The Makuta showed up,” he paused to let the others gasp in surprise at that, “And he talked to Takua- something about a promise to avoid his Destiny, if he gave himself up to the Makuta. And he said yes. Now he’s heading to a proto-something mine under Onu-Koro.”

“Oh no, no no no no!” Jaller half-murmured, eyes wide with horror. “But...but _why_? Why is he trying to avoid his Destiny?”

“Because...” Sora hesitated, not sure whether to tell Jaller what Takua had entrusted him with. Finally, he decided it was necessary and did so. “Because he’s afraid that when he reaches his Destiny, he’ll stop being himself. He said he was afraid he’d die, or be changed and lose everything he is.”

“I...I had no idea. I thought he just wanted to get out of his Duty to be the Herald. I guess...I guess that makes more sense, doesn’t it? Takua was never really the sort to be lazy. I didn’t know he was so afraid. Why, _why_ didn’t I just _talk_ to him about this?!”

To Sora’s surprise, Goofy spoke up. “A lot of the time friends keep secrets from friends, ‘cause they’re embarrassed or afraid other people’ll hate ‘em for what they are or do. I know I had some friends who kept secrets from me, because they were afraid I wouldn’t understand.” He turned to Donald, who looked like he was expecting Goofy to say something ridiculous. “Like how Donald tried to convince me his sister was just away on a long vacation, when I knew she was really dead.”

Donald’s annoyed face melted away into one of surprise. “Goofy, you knew that all this time?”

“Of course, Donald! I’ve had lots of friends die. My ma and pa, the King’s brother, Oz. You didn’t have to lie to me about it.”

“But...then why didn’t you tell me you knew?!”

“Well shucks, I just didn’t want to embarrass ya, ya know? Didn’t want ta make ya feel bad, because I knew you were lying for a good reason.”

Sora was amazed at that; he knew Goofy was smarter than he seemed, but this was a really impressive observation from him.

"I also know about all the times ya lied to Miss Daisy about her weight, but don't worry I won't tell her that, either!"

Donald's surprise melted back into his usual anger, and Sora sighed. That was nice while it lasted, at least.

With that, the four of them set out- Sora and Goofy ahead on foot, Donald and Jaller behind on Pewku. Apparently Jaller didn’t know the way to the mines- though he was pretty sure Takua did, which was bad news for them. They’d have to go to Onu-Koro first to get a guide, then head down to the Protodermis Mines. Sora took the time to ask what Protodermis was- apparently basically _everything_ the Matoran used of any importance was made of the stuff, including the Matoran themselves.

They hurried through the tunnels as fast as they could until they finally reached Onu-Koro; in the same way Ta-Koro had barely counted as a village with how impressively large it was, Onu-Koro seemed more like a small underground city than just a village. Upon arriving, the four of them were greeted by the Onu-Matoran’s Turaga Whenua and an orange-masked Matoran named Nuparu, who was tinkering with something.

“Greetings, Captain of the Guard. And greetings, Keyblade-wielder. It has been a long time since I last saw one of those, a _very_ long time...”

Sora was still curious about that, but decided not to press for answers given the time crunch they were under. “If it’s all the same to you, Turaga, we can’t stay long. We need your help.”

“Well then it’s a good thing we’re here!” Said a familiar boisterous voice. Sora looked up and saw the bronze-masked Toa of Stone, Pohatu, approaching them. At his side was Onu-Koro’s own guardian Onua, who was silently accompanying his Brother.

“Toa Pohatu, Toa Onua.” Jaller said, bowing his head. “We need to get down to the abandoned Protodermis mine under Onu-Koro. Takua was captured and he’s trapped down there.”

Onua raised a metallic brow at that, folding his arms across his chest. “I wouldn’t want anything to befall the Chronicler, but that mine was closed off a year ago for a reason, guard captain. A Manas infestation; it would take more than just two of the Toa to safely escort you through there.”

Another proper noun he didn’t recognize. Sora sighed, then asked. “What are Manas?”

“Powerful Rahi,” Turaga Whenua said in a serious tone, “The Makuta used some as guardians when the Toa originally confronted him in his lair, Mangaia. Now they are largely outside his control, but still _very_ dangerous.”

“Uh also Turaga, that’s not all.” Nuparu cut in, looking up from whatever he was working on. “I was down there not long ago- we'd left some important equipment when we abandoned it, so I went down in some new Boxors to pick them back up. When I got down there though, there were this weird shadowy creatures with the Manas. I tried hitting them with the Boxor, but the punches didn’t _do_ anything. They just bounced off the things. We had to retreat, and leave my prototype behind.”

“More Heartless,” Sora said, getting irritated that even without someone directing them they just kept popping up in the most inconvenient places, “Only the Keyblade...or people _near_ the Keyblade, can hurt them.” He held it up for effect.

Whenua nodded. “Indeed. Then it seems to me that you two should head down there with the Toa-”

He was cut off by the sound of an explosion. Sora and the others looked up, and saw that a hole had been punched in the wall of the earthen dome that held Onu-Koro. Three Rahkshi stood; one red, one white, one black. They hissed intimidatingly, and started firing blasts from their staves into the crowd of Matoran.

“Rahkshi!” Jaller cried out. Pohatu and Onua drew their weapons.

“We’ll deal with the Rahkshi,” Pohatu said, turning to the others, “You five go and rescue the Chronicler!”

“You can’t stop those three alone!” Jaller said, pulling out his spear. “We should stay, and help!”

“No,” Onua said, pulling out his Quake Breakers. “We are Toa. We guard the Matoran. Your Duty is to rescue the Chronicler, and recover the Mask of Light.”

The two Toa charged off after the Rahkshi, and a battle ensued. Sora couldn’t tell, but it did look like the two Toa were at least acquitting themselves pretty well. He thought back to how Kopaka had struggled even against one Rahkshi, though- then again Kopaka _had_ managed to freeze all three of them solid on his own, so maybe they stood a chance. He still didn't like their odds, though, especially since they didn't have the help of a Keyblade like Kopaka had.

“Come on,” The Onu-Matoran named Nuparu called out, running ahead of the others and motioning for them to follow, “I’ll take you to the mine.” He led them into a side passage, away from the battle ensuing in his village. It was lit with crystals, so Jaller didn't need to hold up the Mask to provide illumination.

“So um,” Sora began, “What’s with the Boxor prototype you were talking about?”

“Oh, it’s just another new model. I’m hoping to make one that’s more suited to combat against large Rahi. The old ones were good against Bohrok, but with the Bohrok pretty much all defeated it’d be good to have more of these.”

Jaller chuckled, despite the grimness of the situation. “You never stop inventing, do you Nuparu?”

“Hey, it’s what I’m good at! I never tell _you_ to stop guarding, after all!”

“Point taken, old friend.” Jaller said, as they all followed Nuparu deeper into the tunnel. Eventually they came to a cave mouth blocked off by an earthen wall...one that had been knocked over recently, going by the look of it.

“So Takua’s in there?” Nuparu said, looking ahead. “I see my Prototype, but none of the Manas crabs...just a few of those Heartless things.”

Sora squinted, but couldn’t see anything in the unlit mine shaft ahead. “Huh? How can you see anything?”

Nuparu laughed. “What? I’m an Onu-Matoran, of course I can see in the dark! How else would we thrive down here in the underground? Anyway, I’m going to head back and help the Toa! Good luck!”

With that, the Onu-Matoran inventor ran off back towards Onu-Koro. The four gathered heroes ventured into the tunnel, Sora taking the lead as Jaller lit their way with the Mask of Light. Very quickly they were swarmed by Heartless. Sora did his best to smack them aside quickly, not wanting to get bogged down fighting these things when he had to go save Takua. He noticed that this time Jaller leapt into the fray with his spear, stabbing at the Heartless. Despite being about as small and weak as the lesser Heartless, Jaller managed to knock a bunch of them aside and dissipate them. The Matoran was _tough_.

“Come on.” Jaller said, taking the lead and heading past Nuparu’s discarded Boxor prototype. It looked a lot like the ones Sora had seen back in Ko-Koro; big enough for a Matoran to ride in it, mostly black but with some orange bits affixed to it. Kinda reminiscent of its creator that way, actually. This one though was larger than the other one, and the fists had spikes on the ends of them. At first, Jaller was going to walk past it, then he turned and looked at it, then seemed to get an idea. He affixed the mask to the top of the machine, and then climbed in its cockpit. After he pushed a few buttons, the machine roared to life. The Ta-Matoran let out a triumphant laugh.

“Remind me to thank Nuparu for indirectly saving Takua’s life. Again.” He drove the Boxor out of its position and down the tunnel, taking the lead again. Though it wasn’t fast, Sora still had a bit of trouble keeping up with the treaded vehicle in the mine’s uneven terrain.

The next room was filled with yet more Heartless, and Sora readied for a tough fight. Luckily, the Boxor didn’t disappoint; with a series of mighty, rapid blows, Jaller used the thing to punch aside three Large Body Heartless back into the shadows. Sora finished them off with the Keyblade, and made quick work of the Shadows trying to swarm the Boxor from its pilot’s blind spots. Goofy was doing his usual work tanking hits for the others, and this time Donald was really putting his all into his magic. Blast after blast of fire to blow aside the Heartless trying to attack the rear of the group until the room was cleared.

That done, they headed further into the mine- until they came upon a room behind a door that had been sealed shut. It looked like some kind of metal door meant to keep something trapped.

“No! This door has to lead to the rest of the mine; if Takua is back there, then we can’t reach him!” Jaller yelled in rage, and uselessly pounded the Boxor’s mighty arms against the door over and over again, succeeding only in badly denting the machine’s pseudo-fists.

“Hang on, I think I got this!” Sora said, grinning as he bopped the door with his Keyblade. True to its name, the Keyblade unlocked the door. The young Keyblade wielder casually opened it and motioned for Jaller to head inside.

“Oh. I guess uh, I guess that makes sense.” He drove the Boxor through, with Sora, Donald, and Goofy following behind him. The four of them were now in a massive, domed chamber lit by glowing crystals. At first Sora couldn’t see Takua...and then he saw the blue-masked Matoran at the other end of the room, standing stock still.

“Takua!” Jaller cried out, hopping out of the Boxor and running after his friend. He embraced him, and then seemed to stiffen himself.

“Jaller? Takua? What’s wrong?” Sora looked on...and then noticed that the two Matoran had become trapped in a circle of dark energy. They were frozen in place by something. He looked up and saw that standing over them, concealed in plain sight, was a _massive_ Heartless. It had the build of the Rahkshi, but the yellow eyes and shadowy black body of all Heartless, and stood at least 10 meters tall. In its hands it clutched an ethereal staff of purple energy. Its gaze bore down on Sora...and then it let out a terrifying cry.

Sora drew his Keyblade, and leapt up to it to bludgeon it in the face. The Heartless recoiled, then drew its staff and started blasting at him, Goofy, and Donald with shadowy bursts of energy. They all evaded, though the Boxor was hit and blasted to pieces. The Mask of Light flew free, and landed near Sora. The Heartless’s gaze fell on it...and Sora realized what else it wanted. Before it could take it, he put the mask in one of his...pockets? One of the storage compartments his weird metal body had.

The Rahkshi Heartless narrowed its eyes at him, and then swung its staff down in a sweeping arc. Sora and the others leapt aside...then Sora was struck with inspiration. He leapt up onto the staff and ran up its length of solid darkness. Then, once he was close enough, he leapt off and onto the Heartless’s head. Before the monster could do anything, he slammed the Keyblade down forcefully into its head. The monster roared in pain, and started shaking to throw him off. With tremendous force of will and pure grip strength, he held on for dear life.

Donald and Goofy, seeing their friend’s plight, got to work keeping the giant Heartless busy. Donald started blasting at its legs with Gravira to trap it in place and distract it with pain, while Goofy yelled up taunts at it and repeatedly bashed its feet with his shield.

“Hey ya big ugly jerk! Howsabout you come down here and pick on someone your own size!”

The Heartless, more confused than irritated, seemed to stare at the Guardian for a few seconds before reaching down with its hand to pluck him up. As it did so, its hand was caught in a burst of powerful lightning from Donald's staff that made it withdraw the hand in pain. Donald and Goofy shared a cry of triumph, and continued their assault. Bit by bit, they drove the Heartless back to the wall of the cave.

This distraction gave Sora all the time he needed to get back to his feet, though unsteadily. Cautiously, he drew up Kingdom Key and _slammed_ it down into the Heartless’s head again. This time, his blow was fatal- or whatever counted as ‘fatal’ for Heartless. It sent out a reverberation of Light through the Darkness of the Heartless, and the Rahkshi-like beast cried out in pain as light poured down through it, breaking it to pieces. Sora leapt off it and floated gently down to the ground, the Heartless fading into the Shadows behind him.

The Heartless destroyed, Jaller and Takua were freed from its ensnaring spell. They staggered around for a bit, and Takua seemed especially uneasy for a while. Donald hit them both with a Cure spell, and then they finally seemed right as rain again.

“Looks like he was waiting for you guys, using me as bait. He was gonna take the Mask, too. Well...that’s the last time I trust the Makuta, I guess...” Takua said self-deprecatingly, a half-smile on his masked face.

“WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?!” Jaller shouted at him, tackling his friend and pounding his fists into Takua’s chest repeatedly, though without any real force. “YOU IDIOT! I WAS WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU!”

The two Matoran then shared a weak laugh, as they gradually stood up and brushed the dirt off themselves. Takua looked over at Sora, shame evident in his body language.

“Look, Sora...I’m sorry. About running away. I know you have your own quest to fulfill here. And Jaller, I’m sorry to you too. I know that this is _my_ Duty, not yours. I’m sorry I’ve been shirking from it.”

Jaller shook his head. “No, Takua. Don’t be. Sora told me what you told him; I should _never_ have assumed you were just being lazy. I didn’t know you were so worried about what would happen when we succeed, and it just never occurred to me to think about that.” 

Takua shot Sora a look, but the Keyblade wielder could tell there was no malice in it. “Yeah...I’m sorry for lying, anyway. I should’ve known you would understand, huh?”

“Let’s get out of this place; we can talk all we want while we’re on the way to the Seventh Toa.” With that, the two Matoran hopped on Pewku and led the way- with Sora, Donald, and Goofy hanging behind them.

And in the darkness they left behind, a figure who had gone unnoticed watched them leave with eyes that could pierce any Shadow. She had been told to watch them, to make sure nothing happened to any member of the group. She didn’t know yet what was so interesting about the Matoran with the Keyblade or his two odd friends, but then that wasn’t her place to question orders from the Boss.

Now that she had confirmed the group was reassembled and intact, she turned around. With a casual flick of her wrist, a portal into the Corridors of Darkness formed before her and she stepped through it. Briefly, she stopped to look at them- her gaze lingering on Takua in particular, and then on the Mask of Light his friend was carrying.

She whispered to herself. “One day, Brother. One day I’ll meet you...and oh, the words we’ll share.” Then, in silence, headed through her portal into the Realm of Darkness.


	5. Keys and Masks

The Makuta was furious. It _had_ him, _he_ had him; with his usual skill, he had effortlessly manipulated the foolish Matoran into surrendering himself. It would’ve been so perfect; Ansem could take him and have his Heart of Pure Light, and then _he_ would have the secret of the Emblem Heartless. But...no. Ansem- for it was Ansem commanding that Heartless directly, of this the Makuta had no doubt- had ordered it to grab the Mask, and foolishly used Takua as bait. A ridiculous strategy, one that _he_ would never have used; it would’ve been trivial to create an illusory Takua to lure them into such a trap.

Ansem, for his part, seemed frustrated- but not terribly inclined to blame himself for this failure. “Unfortunate that my Heartless failed, but we still have your Rahkshi. I have sent some Heartless to free the first three from the icy prison they have been trapped in. Will you be giving them Shadow Armor, as well?”

Ignoring, for the moment, his desire to crush this arrogant fool’s windpipe, the Makuta spoke. “Yes. Then all six will gather, and focus their energies on hunting the Mask and its Herald down.” He turned to Ansem, and slowly stepped towards him. When he was looming over the organic properly, looking down on his comparatively tiny 'partner', he spoke again.

“If you don’t mind, I think I should command the Heartless more directly. Through my Sons, at least.”

Ansem raised an eyebrow, and levitated himself up further so he was eye-to-eye with the Makuta. “Why? Do you take issue with not having _complete_ control of the situation?”

The Makuta’s red eyes bored into Ansem, unblinking. “Perhaps. Perhaps I am simply _frustrated_ at your inability to capture two Matoran, a naive would-be hero, a fool, and...whatever that ‘Donald’ creature is.”

“He is a Mage. And also a Duck, though I do not know if such creatures exist in this World.” For the briefest moment, Ansem looked like he was actually contemplating the nature of whatever a ‘Duck’ was, but then obviously brushed the thought aside. “At any rate, I shall simply command more Heartless to join with your Rahkshi, and command some of my more powerful ones to help track down our quarry.”

The Makuta contemplated this. True, there were a thousand ways he could just kill Ansem- at least 941 of them _excrutiatingly_ painful- and be rid of his foolishness once and for all. That would be a waste, though...and now that he thought of it, he had just the idea. Oh yes, an absolutely, wonderfully, _perfect_ idea.

“Tell me, Ansem...have you explored the Realm of Darkness? In my world we call it the Field of Shadows, but the meaning is much the same.”

Ansem smiled wickedly, and his eyes _glowed_ momentarily. “Oh yes, I have _indeed_. If you are proposing what I _think_ you are proposing...well, I have many agents in that Realm who could secure whatever you could place there.”

The Makuta had his answer then; he would finally _win_. “I will instruct the Rahkshi. Be prepared to finally have your heart of pure light, Ansem, oh great Seeker of Darkness.”

* * *

The Mask, to Sora’s surprise, shone northward. It seemed at this point that the thing was trying to send them on an endless loop around the island. Part of him had wanted to go back, of course, but Onu-Koro was half-buried in rubble and Toa Pohatu and Toa Onua were missing in action. Something had apparently happened between the other four, and all of them had hidden themselves away somewhere. It had all sounded so harrowing- Sora wished he could’ve been there to help them.

But he had a Duty, like the people he traveled with. And it was important they maintain their Unity to stick together and reach their Destiny. He liked how easily you could apply those Three Virtues to anything. It was such a flexible little philosophy of the Matoran’s, and so simple. Sora liked it when things were simple; he wasn’t stupid, of course, but he was very straightforward. He didn’t like complicated turns and head-spinning riddles. It was probably for the best that he’d been chosen for such a simple quest; go to another world, find its Keyhole, seal it against Heartless, repeat. Also find Riku and Kairi and bring them home, but that was more personal than Destiny.

Jaller and Takua were doing better, as well; now that the two of them had sorted out the whole ‘Herald’ issue, Takua held the Mask and guided them onward. It shone a lot more brightly in his hands, and easily illuminated the whole rest of the way out of Onu-Wahi until they reached the edge of Po-Wahi; the land of Stone. They had emerged out of the tunnels in some big canyon that apparently would take them straight to Po-Koro.

After a few hours, the five travelers and Pewku made their way there, and were greeted by Turaga Onewa and Hewkii. Sora had met Hewkii earlier, back at Ta-Koro; he was apparently a star athlete at that game Kohlii the Matoran played. He mused if the Matoran would like Blitzball. Probably not the Po-Matoran though, if they swam as bad as Takua had implied once before. Maybe he'd mention it to the Ga-Matoran, if he ever went to their village.

“Greetings, travelers.” Turaga Onewa said, greeting them solemnly, “It is good to see you again, and that the Mask of Light is safe. I trust that you have had a safe journey so far?”

Takua and Jaller exchanged a look, and Sora shared it. “No,” Jaller began, sounding exhausted, “No, it has not been safe. At all.”

“Ah...well that is a shame. Part of me wishes we had indeed asked the Toa to accompany you, but if you have made it this far from Ta-Koro than it may have been unnecessary. Please, stay the night here in Po-Koro. Join me at Po-Suva and tell us what has happened.”

And so the party went with the Turaga and Hewkii to Po-Suva. It wasn’t in a pavilion like Ta-Suva had been, but instead sat under the open sky. Still, it was a fairly comfortable place to sit and discuss recent events. Takua recounted all that had happened to Turaga Onewa, and Sora grimaced as he recounted the attack on Onu-Koro, particularly when he mentioned that Onua and Pohatu were missing.

“This is...truly terrible news. They have been our defenders for such a brief time in our existences, and yet we owe them _everything_. I truly do hope that they are alright.”

Hewkii brightened. “Hey, Turaga...they’ve been in worse scrapes. I mean, Onua and Pohatu were there when they all fought the _Makuta-_ and that was _before_ they became the Toa Nuva. I’m sure they’re both alright.”

“Perhaps. I hope that you are right, Hewkii.” Onewa turned to look at Sora. “Tell me, Keyblade Wielder; do you think you are close to the Keyhole?”

Sora realized he hadn’t been thinking much about the whole reason he and the others were here- the whole ‘Mask of Light’ quest had distracted him from the rather more pressing task of saving this whole world from the Heartless. “Uh...no. I don’t think we’re gonna find it until after we find the Seventh Toa, anyway. Destiny, you know?”

The Turaga chuckled, and nodded sagely. “Indeed, I do know. Destiny is often quite obvious in what it asks of us, yet so many have a difficult time accepting it. I admire your dedication to achieving it, Sora.”

At those words, Sora saw Takua’s body language shift uncomfortably. He was still holding the Mask, but no-one had commented on it. Maybe it wasn’t that remarkable to Turaga Onewa...or maybe he already knew. In any event, the meeting was then adjourned.

Since they’d arrived mid-day, but weren’t expected to leave until the following morning, Sora and the others took the time to explore Po-Koro. Like all the villages Sora was impressed with how large and elaborate it was, though certainly nowhere near as much as Ta-Koro or even Onu-Koro. He frowned, remembering that he had seen Ta-Koro on one of the very last days of its existence. Even if Jaller and Takua succeeded on their quest, their home was still gone...just like his. At least for him, when he succeeded in his quest his home might be restored. For them though, it was gone forever.

They spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening watching a Kohlii game where Hewkii and another Po-Matoran played for fun against some visiting Ko-Matoran. To lighten their spirits, Sora suggested Jaller and Takua play a game against Hewkii- to which they agreed. The two of them did a great job playing against the apparently more experienced and skilled Po-Matoran, and managed to at least lose 3-2 instead of something more one-sided.

After that, the group were given a comfortable domed hut (Did all the Matoran live in domes?) to sleep in, and some food. All the stops they’d been at had provided food, and Sora noted that in this disguise he could still derive energy from food even if he only touched it. Apparently it was how _all_ the Matoran fed. Weird. Full, tired, and ready to get a comfortable night’s sleep for the first time in a few days, Sora drifted off into a quiet, dreamless sleep.

Unfortunately, he was woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of a very, very familiar screech. He bolted upright, and readied his Keyblade; the Rahkshi were here. Quickly, he woke the others and they headed out the door to defend Po-Koro. Sora scanned the horizon to see where the Rahkshi had come from. What he saw chilled his blood; all _six_ Rahkshi flying at them at top speed.

Sora and his two friends drew their weapons and stood their ground. Takua and Jaller did likewise- Takua drawing his Kohlii stick like a weapon, Jaller his spear. The odds didn’t look good, even if it _was_ technically 6 on 6.

The red Rahkshi landed right in front of them, and brandished its staff. Sora gave it a good whack on the head with his Keyblade...but the Rahkshi didn’t even seem to notice it. He saw some kind of darkness briefly appear around its face when he struck, and realized they had some kind of protection against his Light now!

Before he could do anything else, the Rahkshi pointed its staff right at him and blasted. Expecting a physical attack, Sora was blindsided when he was instead overwhelmed with a sense of panic and dread. The Rahkshi before him went from an opponent to be fought to a towering, unstoppable monstrosity in his mind. He wanted to _run,_ and run _fast_ , but his newfound terror was so overwhelming that his legs gave out from under him.

“No, Sora!” He heard Takua cry out behind him. He saw the Matoran leap forward and charge at the Rahkshi- and then get swatted aside by it, knocking him to the ground. This was the end, for sure; they were doomed. His friends were all getting knocked aside by Rahkshi- the Green one had poisoned Donald and kicked him to the ground, the Black-armored one drained Goofy’s energy and threw him into a building, and the White-armored one forewent any fancy tricks for simply savagely bludgeoning Jaller into submission.

Then, all the Rahkshi gathered around Takua and Sora, and pointed their staves at the two heroes; they exuded wave after wave of dark energy from their staves, and Sora felt as though he was sinking...sinking...deeper into the Darkness….

* * *

Back in Mangaia, the two Masters of Darkness observed the attack on Po-Koro, the success of the Rahkshi in trapping the Keyblade wielder, the Herald, and the Mask of Light. Now they were all in the Realm of Darkness.

“Well, that went well.” Ansem noted, impressed. “I had expected...I don’t know, something to go wrong? You are the first associate I’ve made from any World to actually _succeed_.”

The Makuta chuckled. “You are too used to working with fools, then. I do not _fail_. Even when I do, it is ultimately beneficial to my larger plan.”

“You remind me of someone I used to be."

Makuta tilted his head at that, but decided not to ask further.

"At any rate, now that you have held up your end of the bargain, let me hold up mine.” He materialized a journal bound in black leather and made of what looked to be paper out of the darkness, and handed it to the Makuta- who grasped it gingerly in one hand. It had been so long since he had seen paper, a rarity even in the ancient days of the Universe and utterly unknown now. “This contains all the information you will need on creating Emblem Heartless.”

“Perfect,” the Makuta said, probing Ansem’s mind for a trace of deception. Sensing none, he placed the book in a secure compartment of his armor for the time being. “Now...about the other three.”

He brought up an image of the Keyblade Wielder’s two companions as well as Jaller, the Ta-Matoran captain of the guard. Their task completed, the Rahkshi has simply taken them and left Po-Koro. No sense in killing all the Matoran- they were, after all, necessary to his larger plans. But these three...they could be intriguing. The two from another world were of obvious scientific curiosity, but there was a trace of _Destiny_ about the Human disguised as a Ta-Matoran that inclined Makuta to keep him for further study, particularly now that he was no longer a threat. He had seen glimpses of something, worked out little bits and pieces of his tale from what Ansem had been willing to tell him and had unwittingly shown him. Oh yes, he was far too interesting to give up.

Ansem shrugged. “I have no need for them, nor interest in them. If you wish to make some use of them, be my guest. Our business is concluded.” And with that, he dissipated into Darkness.

Makuta considered the week; it had been _remarkably_ productive, hadn’t it? A thousand years of work constraining the Matoran all felt like it had led up to this. Of course, it still would be... _difficult_ to plan the next steps. Without a convenient way to feign a defeat at their hands, the Matoran may need to be tricked in some other way to get them to return to their old home. Perhaps he should arrange for some grand and glorious final battle with the Toa Nuva and ‘die’ at their hands? Ah well, he’d work it out eventually.

After all, he now had _plenty_ of time…

* * *

Sora blinked his eyes open. His body felt pained all over, but he couldn’t remember getting physically injured. Come to think of it, the pain was very...abstract. It felt like he had been having some kind of stress-induced episode, like Tidus sometimes had. He sat up, and took a look around. It didn’t look like Po-Koro; all he saw before him was an endless beach, and then endless...sand? Black sand, he guessed- in all directions. Aside from that, there were just a bunch of black spikes poking up out of the ground, everywhere. A cold, white moon hung over it all, giving only the barest amount of light.

As he looked around, he saw that Takua was nearby, Mask of Light in hand. He was lying face down on the beach, breathing a bit uneasily. He went over to the Matoran, and gently patted his back.

“Hey there Sora,” Takua said, turning over and getting to his feet. “What’s up? Where are we?”

“I don’t really know. This place...I don’t know where we are. Everything is so Dark here...”

Takua shuddered as he stood, and held the Mask of Light close. Its light shone brightly, even in this darkness. Sora clutched at his Keyblade, feeling protected and warmed by its light, even in this awful place. He hoped Takua was being protected in the same way by the Mask.

“So, how do we get out of here?” Sora asked, looking for any kind of door or exit. This didn’t look like it was any place on Mata Nui that he’d seen so far.

“Uh...I don’t think we do.” Takua said, clearly struggling to even stand in this strange place. “I don’t think we’re on Mata Nui anymore.”

Now that he stopped to really _look,_ Sora could tell there was something fundamentally _wrong_ about this place. The little light here was cold, and alien. The darkness...the darkness didn’t merely feel like it was the absence of light. This was the _presence_ of darkness; a coldness, a wrongness that surrounded him and constricted him. He felt like he was slowly smothering in this endless void.

“Come on,” he said, taking Takua’s hand. “We have to keep moving.”

“Why?” the Matoran asked, his voice weak, “Where are you going?”

“We just...we need to move!” He had no idea where they would go, or how they’d get out. He just knew that staying still would only quicken the effects of this place. He had to move, to keep _warm_ , to keep _alive_. And maybe, just maybe, to find somebody who could help them get out.

The two of them moved for what felt like hours...or felt like no time at all. This place was so weird, so _wrong_ , that Sora couldn't be sure if it had been a minute or a century. Even as they got further down the eerie shore they had arrived near, the moon still seemed to hang in the exact same place in the sky. Briefly, he considered going to swim in the dark water...but that seemed like the worst possible idea in this situation. It wasn’t helping that every so often he thought he caught a glimpse of yellow eyes peering up at him from the water- but that had to be his imagination. Instead, he focused on moving further down the beach with Takua by his side.

He felt the Matoran’s grip on his hand weakening, and turned to look. Takua was _barely_ keeping up. The light on his chest was growing fainter and fainter as he moved, like his Heart was slowly being drained from him by this place. They had to escape, and fast.

Then, he heard a very familiar sound. Turning around in dread, Sora saw what he knew he should’ve probably expected; a horde of Heartless. Not manufactured, but wild. Lots and lots of little Shadows, racing towards them, hoping to steal their hearts.

“Get behind me!” He said to Takua, shoving the Matoran behind him as he stood between his friend and this wave of living Darkness. He brandished his Keyblade, ready to stand and fight- and die, if he had to. He wasn’t going to let _anyone_ else get hurt if he could help it.

Just then, something swept down from the sky. At first, Sora hoped it was something here to save them- but to his dismay, it was a massive Emblem Heartless. The thing was shaped like some vast, predatory bird- and it was scooping up the other Heartless and scattering them. Evidently it wanted them, and badly, and wasn’t going to let them get away.

When the Flying Heartless had dispersed the others, it landed and stood on its two legs, staring its unblinking yellow eyes at Sora. He held his Keyblade, ready to fight. Frustratingly, the thing seemed to be taking its time with him, instead of just leaving or getting it over with; it just stood there, menacingly staring at Sora. Maybe it was trying to psyche him out?

In that moment, he caught a glimpse of something strange; behind the Flying Heartless, a flicker of movement. He couldn’t tell who, and he couldn’t tell what, but it made the Heartless spin around. Suddenly, he saw it get knocked back by some powerful blow- and saw that attacking it was someone in a long, black leather coat with a face concealing hood. Whoever they were, they were doing major damage to the Heartless with just their bare hands and feet.

“Hey, Keyboy!” The person- a woman, going by the voice- shouted out. “Get over here and help me save your sorry butt!”

Sora was _seriously_ confused, but nodded and charged forward with his Keyblade. He swung it blunt-end first into the Heartless, and caused it to recoil in pain whenever he struck. All the while, the hooded stranger was landing blow after blow- and to his amazement, clearly hurting it, _somehow_ . Whenever she hit, he saw the dark surface of the creature seem to be disrupted, and it...was it getting _smaller_?

“Come on, we’ve almost got it!” The mystery lady said, disrupting his thoughts. She pulled a mighty leap, and landed on the thing’s neck so hard she pinned it right to the ground. “Come on, finish it off!” She cried out, grunting in exertion.

The boy with the Keyblade complied, and charged at the Flying Heartless, screaming a battle cry at the top of his lungs. He _slammed_ Kingdom Key down into the thing’s head, and with a mighty crackling sound the Heartless dissipated into nothingness.

The cloaked woman brushed her hands as if wiping off dirt, and nodded at Sora. “Good job, kid.” Now that he was up close, he could see she was actually _really_ tall; maybe close to 6 feet. He’d never met a woman that tall before, and he didn’t know why but it made him a little nervous.

“Thanks. Uh...thank you for saving us?”

“Huh? Oh no, I wasn’t saving you. Actually, I’m here to kill you.” She said it casually, like she was discussing the weather.

Sora took a moment to process it, then jumped back and held up his Keyblade, very confused. “Wait what?!”

She held up her hands defensively. “Kidding, kidding! But seriously, don’t mention it. I was just passing through.”

The spiky-haired boy relaxed, and lowered his keyblade. Wait, spiky hair? Oh yeah, he was back to normal. Huh. He turned to look at Takua; if the Matoran had a reaction to his real appearance, he wasn’t showing it. Probably because of how far gone he was.

“Passing through...where, exactly?” Sora said, motioning around them. He _really_ hoped she’d explain what the heck was going on.

“Oh, yeah uh...so this place, is the Realm of Darkness. It’s where all the Heartless come from, more or less. You...and him...and me,” she said pointing to each of them in turn, “Come from the Realm of Light- where everything is peachy keen all the time. With sunshine and rainbows and fluffy kittens” She moved her hands around energetically as she spoke, and Sora felt like she was either completely crazy or seriously messing with him.

Or both. Could always be both, at this point.

“I see...so um, how do we get back to where we were?”

She stroked her...well not her _chin_ , but the base of the hood of her cloak. “Hmmmm, good question...I don’t know. Can you summon Corridors of Darkness?”

Sora shook his head. “Nope, I can’t." He didn't even know what those were, but at this point was too tired for more confusing answers to simple questions. "Is there another way out of here?”

The woman also shook her head, as if mimicking his movements. “Nada, sorry. The only other way out _I_ could think of would be a door to the realm of Light...oh, but you’d need something crazy like a Princess of Heart or a Toa of Light to do _that._ Too bad you don’t have any!” She then turned around, and started walking away.

“Wait!” Takua called out. Sora turned, and saw that his friend was standing and holding the Mask of Light.

The mystery woman turned to look at Takua, and regarded him quizzically. “What? What’s up, little guy?”

“I...look,” he began, hesitantly, “We need a Toa of Light to get out of here, right?”

She nodded. “Yep!”

“And...and this is the Mask of Light...meant to reveal the Seventh Toa.” He said, as if working through something in his mind.

“Right again- you catch on fast!” She gave Takua a thumbs up, and leaned in close to Sora to whisper conspiratorially, “Watch out for _that_ one, he’s _dangerously_ clever.” From her tone, Sora figured she was being sarcastic. Almost without his noticing, he also saw she put something round in his pocket. He looked at her questioningly. Briefly, he inspected the item; it looked like a plain metal disc painted black. One it was a little paper label that said ‘ _If you want to come back to where you got this, throw it at a wall.’_ He put it away for now, not really understanding what it could be for.

Takua looked down at the Mask in his hands. His eyes showed resignation...then changed. As though a switch had been flipped inside him, as though some long-forgotten memory had come to life again, his resignation shifted to resolve. With certainty, he put the Mask of Light on his face.

An _explosion_ of golden light poured out of the mask, and over Sora and the Stranger. Barely visible through the sudden brightness, Sora could see that Light was enveloping Takua’s body, and lifted him up into the air. Then, he started to _change_ ; limbs extending and growing until his legs touched the sandy ground. His arms extended outwards, and grew more muscular and more well-armored. His chest broadened, and was covered in shining golden armor. And his Mask...his old mask was subsumed, and the Mask of Light bonded to his face.

Then, he saw Takua...no, he saw the _Toa of Light_ pull out his Kohlii stick- and it transformed. At first Sora expected it to transform into a silvery Toa Tool like the Toa Nuva had, but instead...it extended, and flattened, and took on the shape of a _Key_.

No, not a Key; a Key _blade_. This one was larger than Sora’s, meant for a larger being. It was different from Kingdom Key, even in its Mata Nui disguise; made of golden metal from rounded grip to smooth, machined stem, and with a set of three teeth that looked as elegantly decorative as they were razor sharp.

“I am...Takanuva. Toa of Light.” Takanuva spoke in a voice not _that_ different from Takua’s...but deeper, by just a hair. The inflection, the tone, were all different though. More mature, more otherworldly. Then, he looked at Sora...and the facade dropped. He grinned broadly, and Sora could see that even with a change of name this was _still_ his friend Takua.

Sora walked up to him, and smiled up at his now-taller friend. “So...I guess this was your Destiny, huh?”

“Yeah...I guess it was. Wow, is that your real form?”

Sora rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, this is the real deal alright!"

"You look so _weird_. Are you all organic? No mechanical parts?"

"Yep! None at all, as far as I know anyway." He certainly _hoped_ he didn't have any metal parts hidden away inside. He really didn't need any strange things inside of him, honestly.

"Huh...well, good to see you at last, at least." The Toa of Light then looked over at the cloaked figure, and raised a metal brow at her. “So, now what, Stranger? Care to tell us who you are?”

She shook her head. “Nope, but you two best get going. You’ve still got a Keyhole to find, I’m fairly sure.” Without another word, she turned around and started walking away into the Darkness. Within a moment, she had vanished utterly.

“So uh...Takanuva, you’ve...got a Keyblade.” Sora said lamely, looking at the shining weapon in his friend’s hand.

“Yeah uh...how do I use this thing? It doesn’t look very sharp.” Takanuva was holding the thing backwards, with the teeth facing outwards like an axe. Gently, Sora shifted it around in his hands.

Takanuva frowned. “Well now it looks even _less_ sharp!”

“It’s not _meant_ to be sharp! It’s more of a stick that you bash people with!”

“Then why is it called a Key _blade_?!” Takanuva groaned, sounding utterly exasperated with the thing as he swung it around. Suddenly, a beam of Light shot out of it in the direction of the eerie moon. A massive door formed before them of pure light, and Takanuva looked over at Sora sheepishly.

“Don’t ask me how I knew how to do this, okay?” Takanuva asked of Sora, as he led the way through the door.

Sora chuckled. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Takanuva.”

As the two Keyblade Wielders made their way through the door of light, the figure in the black cloak smiled in the darkness.

“Good luck, Brother...and May your Heart be your Guiding Key.”


	6. The Return of Light

To Sora’s surprise, they didn’t return to Po-Koro; rather, they appeared in a seaside village that must’ve been Ga-Koro, home of the water-dwelling Matoran. The buildings were an interesting mix of seaweed and giant lily pads, but surprisingly sturdy looking as they floated on the bay. Surrounding the village on all sides but above was water- it almost reminded Sora of home, actually. They had shown up in a small, empty hut that had a window that allowed for a good view of the village as a whole.

“Uh...why are we in this part of the island?” Sora asked, curious.

Takanuva shrugged. “I think I was thinking of Ga-Koro because of the sea in the Field of Shadows. In hindsight, I probably should’ve been thinking of the beach in Ta-Wahi...that was the start of a much more _memorable_ adventure than any I’d had before this one.”

“You’ll have to tell me about it sometime. Come on, let’s go!” Sora led his tall friend out of the plant-woven building.

All around them were blue Ga-Matoran…who dropped everything they were doing when Sora (thankfully back in his Mata Nui disguise) and Takanuva stepped out into the daylight. Soon the stunned silence turned to awed cries, and a gaggle of Ga-Matoran gathered around the two.

Thankfully they were spared from being mobbed by a bunch of curious villagers when a familiar voice called out over the crowd. “Stand back, give them some space!” Turaga Nokama said, stepping forwards. At her side was Hahli, who Sora recognized from his time in Ta-Koro. She looked up at them, and noticed Sora.

“Sora? Where is...then this is...” The wise Turaga’s voice trailed off; evidently she was just as confused as Sora would’ve been in this situation, a refreshing change of pace.

“I am Takanuva, the Toa of Light...” He smiled at her, dropping the more regal tone, “And I used to be Takua, Chronicler of the Island of Mata Nui.”

Nokama gasped. “Takua? Takua that _is_ you, I can tell! You... _you_ were the Seventh Toa, this whole time?!”

Hahli ran up to Takanuva and hugged his leg. “Takua! You big jerk, I was worried sick! We heard about you all disappearing at Po-Koro!”

Takanuva frowned. “Wait, all of us? What happened to Jaller?”

“Yeah, and Goofy and Donald...and Pewku!” Sora added that last one almost as an afterthought. Suddenly, as if on cue, there was another cry from the crowd. Sora and Takanuva looked on- and saw that the Ussal crab was running through the crowd excitedly at them. Before either of them could do anything else, Pewku tackled Takanuva in joy and started licking his face like a dog. The Toa of Light laughed his head off in joy.

“Pewku! You’re okay!” He patted her head, and then stood back up. “Well, if you’re OK...then where are Jaller, Goofy, and Donald?”

The crab made a series of anxious noises that neither Sora nor Takanuva could understand. Sweet as Pewku was, she was unlikely to be a very useful witness…

Then, Nokama’s mask began to glow faintly. She stepped up to Pewku and made some noises that sounded like the crab’s odd way of speaking. Pewku made some more back at her, and gradually Sora remembered that this was her mask power; it had worked on the Mask of Light earlier, and now she was using it to translate Pewku’s _spoken_ language.

“Oh no...Takanuva, Sora...your friends have been captured by the Rahkshi. They’ve taken him to Mangaia- to the Makuta’s lair!”

“No!” Takanuva and Sora shouted in unison.

“We have to go save them, right now!” Sora said, raising his Keyblade.

Takanuva did the same, drawing out his own Keyblade. “And we will! Come on, Sora!”

Nokama stood in front of them. “Wait! You two...you can’t just go charging off after the Makuta! You need the other Toa by your side if you hope to rescue your friends. You must remember that the first virtue is _Unity_ for a reason!”

Takanuva shook his head, looking resolute. “No. That will take time, especially if they’re still scattered after the battle at Onu-Koro. Sora and I need to get to Kini-Nui as fast as possible, and descend into Mangaia- and rescue our friends!”

“Yeah!” Sora said. “I’m sorry, Turaga but...we _have_ to go save them. And besides, we’re united- we’re united together! We’re both Keyblade wielders!”

Sora and Takanuva held up their Keyblades for effect, the mid-day sunlight shining off of them.

“Perhaps,” said a voice that Sora faintly recognized, from the far end of the village, “But you’re not going to be fast enough on your own.” Him and Takanuva turned again, and saw that this time the visitor was none other than Tahu, Toa of Fire. He wasn’t alone, either; the other five Toa were with him- Pohatu, Kopaka, Gali, Onua, and Lewa all. The crowd of Ga-Matoran parted to make way for them, and they all knelt before Takanuva.

“Brother,” Gali began, “We have waited for so long for you to join us. Tell us, where were you hiding all this time?”

“Uhhhhh...” Takanuva rubbed the back of his head, “So, you know Takua?”

“Yes, of course!” Gali said, “He is our Chronicler. Do you know him?”

Takanuva grinned broadly. “Well, of course I know him; he’s me!”

The Toa all looked up at him in shock, Tahu most of all. “Takua…? You’re...this is a joke, isn’t it?”

“Do you remember how I had amnesia for a few months after I summoned you all to the island, and didn’t know what village I was from?” He turned to look at Kopaka. “Remember how I was there when you fought off those Muaka attacking Matoro, using a bunch of Noble Masks?”

Kopaka’s stunned look turned to a smirk. “I knew you were Toa material, Takua. I just didn’t expect...well that you were _Toa_.”

“It’s Takanuva now. I felt a name change was...appropriate?”

The Toa all stood, and inspected him more closely now as if trying to find a trace of their little friend Takua in there.

“Not that I don’t appreciate the attention but...we have a mission. Jaller and Sora’s friends have been captured by the Makuta. I don’t know why, but I doubt he’s got pleasant intentions for them. We need to get to Kini Nui as fast as possible, and we need to rescue them.”

"Hang on," Sora asked, moving his arms around, "Why did you all _come_ here, anyway?"

Lewa brightened. "I way-followed the travel-crab! She was a sure-fine guide to Takua- er, I mean, Takanuva? That time you were path-lost in a sorry-bad part of Le-Wahi."

"Oh...right..." Takanuva rubbed the back of his head, sounding embarassed. He stood up straighter, and cleared out his throat. "At any rate, we need to get to Kini-Nui, and fast!"

Pohatu tapped his mask. “Then I think we can all agree that now would be a good time for some Speed.”

“But...I only have my Mask of Light. I can’t match your speed.”

Pohatu waved a hand dismissively. “That’s fine, brother! Remember that our Nuva masks can share our speed with any other Toa!”

“Uhhhh,” Sora interrupted lamely, “Then um...how will I keep up?”

His question was answered by Takanuva picking him up, and hoisting Sora up on his back. “How about like this?”

“Well I guess it’s nice not to have to walk.” Sora said, rolling his eyes.

Before they could take off, Hahli ran up to them. “And I’m coming too! Jaller...Jaller means the world to me. I’m not going to just sit back and let you all rescue him without me!”

Gali smiled at the Ga-Matoran, and hoisted her up to her own back. “Then you will accompany us. Hold on tight.”

"Oh wait," Sora said, remembering something. He turned to look at Turaga Nokama, who was looking at him quizzically. "There's this game called Blitz-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Takanuva, Sora, Hahli, and the Toa Nuva went off like a shot into the wetlands of Ga-Wahi. The whole thing passed by like a blur, and before long they were crossing the ash wastelands of Ta-Wahi. Over the slopes of the great Mangai they ran, kicking up a cloud of dust and smoke in their wake. Finally, they reached their destination; Kini-Nui. It was a massive head carved out of stone, sitting in front of something that looked like it had once been a Suva like the six in each village. This one had been broken though, from the inside.

The seven Toa, Hahli, and Sora all gathered around the entrance. Takanuva peered into its dark depths. “This won’t be the first time I go down there...but it will be the first time I will confront the Makuta myself, instead of just cowering in the shadows while you all fight for me.”

“You won’t be alone,” Tahu said, clasping his shoulder, “And we beat him before! Now we’re even stronger- with you, we’ll triumph for sure.”

“And with Sora.” Takanuva noted, inclining his head at his fellow Keyblade Wielder.

“Right, and with...Sora.” Tahu looked apprehensively at Sora. Of all the Toa, he was the one Sora felt he knew or even really _liked_ the least. Sure he was their _leader_ but...well he just seemed like a hothead, definitely not the kind of cool-headed and inspiring person he’d _think_ should be in charge. Then again, he’d only been here for a week or so.

Before the group could dive down into the tunnels that led to Mangaia, a burst of energy shot out over the horizon and struck the giant stone idol that stood at the head of Kini-Nui. It fragmented into lots of little pieces, and forced the gathered heroes to scatter. Sora looked to where it had came from- and sure enough, there were the six Rahkshi. They must’ve known the heroes were coming, and were here to stop them.

But they weren’t dealing with just a few Toa this time, or Sora and his friends by themselves; this time they were dealing with all six Toa Nuva...no, all _seven_ Toa Nuva! And Sora, for that matter. The gathered Toa drew their weapons and charged them with their various elemental energies, and Sora drew his Keyblade. Sora was the first to attack, blasting the six Rahkshi with a powerful Gravira.

It was a well-chosen opening move; the six Toa Nuva took the opportunity to leap forward and each engage a single Rahkshi while they were frozen in place. Sora noted bemusedly that each seemed to pick the one that matched their own color scheme. Him and Takanuva decided wordlessly that they should stick together. All three of them charged and joined Toa Tahu against the red Rahkshi of Fear.

Currently, the monster was locked in something of a staff fight with Tahu, who had joined his Lava Blades into a single bifurcated weapon and was dueling the Rahkshi with it. Takanuva was the first to join in- letting out a powerful burst of Light from his Keyblade. At first the Rahkshi’s armor seemed to resist it...then it flickered, and faded. The Rahkshi let out a scream, and then collapsed to the ground.

Tahu looked at Takanuva and smiled. “Well...I suppose we should’ve expected as much from the Toa of Light.” Then, the two Toa leapt at the nearest Rahkshi locked in combat with Kopaka. Sora joined them, though he was starting to get the feeling Takanuva could’ve handled all these Rahkshi by himself. If for no other reason than that they were vulnerable to the very Element he had command over.

The White-armored Rahkshi was next- and, seeing what had happened to its brother, it flew back a distance. Before Kopaka, Tahu, or Takanuva could blast it, the Rahkshi fired a burst of its purple energy at Tahu. Sora, not having seen it in action before, at first assumed the blast had failed...then saw Tahu roar in anger and turn his swords on Kopaka.

“You’ve questioned my role as leader one time too many, ‘brother’!” He slammed his blades into Kopaka’s sides, and the Toa of Ice- who had not been expecting the blow, clearly- screamed in pain. Drawing his ice blades and shield, he tried to freeze Tahu solid- but the Toa of Fire saw the hit coming and repelled it with a shield of flames around him.

Then, something interesting happened. Takanuva leapt in between his two fellow Toa...and his mask started to glow. More than it already did most of the time, anyway. A wave of warm, comforting golden light poured out and cascaded over Tahu’s body. At once, Sora saw his body language relax, and the Toa of Fire lowered his blades.

“I...what...just happened?” He looked around in mild confusion.

“At a guess,” Kopaka said, steadying himself on his bifurcated ice blades, “That Korahk filled you with anger...and then the Mask of Light cured it.”

“That makes sense!” Sora cut in, “The Rahkshi put Darkness in your heart- but the Mask of Light got rid of it.”

“Ah, I should’ve expected the Toa of Light would have powers to counter the Makuta’s control over our Hearts as well.” Tahu said, looking a bit surprised all the same.

Takanuva shrugged helplessly...then casually blasted aside the white-armored Rahkshi and sent the thing careening down off the cliff it had been standing atop of. “Actually I was trying to blast you, but I think I tapped into the wrong part of the Mask...”

Kopaka chuckled. “Well I wouldn’t have necessarily minded _that_ either, personally.”

Tahu growled...then laughed. The two Toa leapt into the fray against the other Rahkshi. Despite being united for the first time since he’d met them, Sora could see the Toa were having trouble keeping up with the remaining Rahkshi. Onua had been drained of his energy by the black-armored one, and the green one had badly poisoned Lewa. Pohatu was gamely trying to evade the blasts of his opponent, and Gali was blasting hers with water to try and push it into the stream surrounding the temple so she could have it completely at her mercy.

In the end, Takanuva’s presence was the deciding factor; with a few well-placed bursts of Light he penetrated the Shadow Armor of the Rahkshi and reduced them to quivering wrecks on the floor. Then, he seemed to get a spark of inspiration. He instructed Sora, Hahli, and the other Toa to gather the armor pieces of the Rahkshi and the sluglike things inside- the ‘Kraata’, as they were apparently called according to the Turaga. Then, they assembled the armor into a big, vaguely motorcycle-shaped machine that hovered in the air. Takanuva shoved the six Kraata into the main compartment, and looked in satisfaction upon what he had built.

“So um,” Sora asked, a bit perplexed, “What is this thing and why did you put the creepy slugs inside of it?”

“This is an Ussanui...or at least, that’s what I’m calling it. And I put the Kraata inside because what is the Makuta’s will return to him; with this, I can ride safely through the Maze of Shadows between here and Mangaia. Then, you and I can defeat him once and for all.”

Tahu stepped up. “But...just you and this stranger? None of us will accompany you?”

Takanuva shook his head. “It is our Destiny to descend there. I’m certain of it; it’s our friends in danger, not yours. Besides, all of you are exhausted after the battle with the Rahkshi” He motioned to the recovering Onua, Kopaka, and Lewa.

“I’d question the logic of that...but only because I too think of Jaller as a good friend. Nevertheless, you’re right. Gali, Pohatu and I will stay here and tend to the others. You and Sora will go and rescue your friends. But be careful, Brother- you may have seen us fight the Makuta, but you have not fought him yourself, or experienced how harrowing it is to stand so near him and still draw up the strength to fight.”

Takanuva smiled. “I know. But I think this time...he’ll be a little harrowed around me, too. Besides, he might have Heartless with him...and only Sora and I have Keyblades.”

With that, the two aforementioned Keyblade wielders hopped onto Ussanui- Takanuva taking the pilot’s seat, and Sora gripping his waist from behind- which then hovered into the air and took off down the tunnels into that Maze of Shadows.


	7. The Door to Darkness

Riding Ussanui was, in Sora’s mind, not the most _pleasant_ experience. It was metal- so was he of course, at least right now- and that didn’t sit well with him. The speed at which they were flying was also ridiculously intense, and were it not for the light from Takanuva’s Mask, they’d be in pitch blackness. But that was just the initial descent. When they had stopped diving down and started flying more or less forward...things got crazier.

All around, Sora saw strange things in dark corners. At first it wasn’t anything _that_ out of the ordinary for what he’d seen on Mata Nui since he arrived here; biomechanical beasts, most of which looked like weird mashups of real animals and construction equipment. ‘Rahi’, he remembered they were called. But some of them were _huge_. As they kept flying, he saw stranger and stranger things; giant armored suits of metal that seemed designed for someone the size of a Toa to pilot them. Tubes filled with hopefully-empty Rahkshi armors of various colors he hadn’t seen among the six they’d fought. A weird black plant thing growing out of a wall...that he couldn’t help but think was _watching_ them.

Eventually, Sora saw them flying towards a massive stone door. At the speeds they were flying at, they’d crash into it- and then probably die.

“Uh, Takanuva? Shouldn’t we um, slow down?”

To his horror, his friend simply laughed maniacally, and seemed to accelerate more. Sora screamed and closed his eyes, clutching tight-

-only to be jolted forward as the Ussanui stopped suddenly. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Takanuva had brought it to a half mere centimeters from the door. He looked up at his shiny friend in annoyance, who looked back at him with a mischievous smirk.

“Never do that again.” Sora said, as angrily as he ever said anything. Unfortunately it had the effect of a kitten playfully batting at someone’s ankles.

Takanuva chuckled softly. “You have my word.”

The two of them hopped off the Ussanui, and Takanuva pulled the Kraata out of the storage compartment and carried them around the big stone barrier. Sora noted that it wasn’t actually so much a door as a wall that didn’t cover the whole hallway; around it, one could see entrances into some room bathed in Shadows...except for a large, silver pool in the middle. No, it wasn’t a simple pool, actually; it was shaped in the symbol of the Three Virtues he had seen everywhere. Whatever was inside it was a sparkling, shimmering, strange substance that moved around like it was _alive_.

“Energized Protodermis,” Takanuva said, also looking at the silvery pool, “Stay clear. You don’t wanna touch that stuff.”

“What’ll happen if I do?” Sora asked, curious.

“One of two things; mutate randomly into Mata Nui knows what.”

“Ewww.” Sora said, not liking the sound of that.

“Or two,” Takanuva said, looking down at him almost seriously, “You'll just be disintegrated.”

Sora sighed. “Oh, is _that_ all.”

The two of them walked around the Chamber, looking for any sign of their friends or the Makuta. None were to be found...at first. Then, Sora looked up and saw, floating in three of the tubes that he’d seen holding Rahkshi outside, were their friends! Jaller, Donald, and Goofy all were unconscious, but looked mostly unharmed. He shuddered to think of what the Makuta was planning with them.

Then, he heard a ponderous, _heavy_ footstep. Him and Takanuva both drew their Keyblades, and Takanuva amplified the glow of his Mask to illuminate the room as much as possible.

“I see that you two survived your trip to the Field of Shadows. You dare bring such Light into my lair, little Toa? You think it will save you from me?” The voice was the same as the one Sora and Takanuva had heard before in the tunnels in Onu-Wahi, but this time it was...different. It wasn’t quite as monstrous now that it wasn’t right in his head, but it was still imposingly deep and guttural. He turned his head in the direction of the footsteps- but saw nothing.

“Oh, you will not find me so easily...little Toa. You’ll find that I am master of more than just _Shadows_ \- while you remain Master, if _that_ , only of Light.” The footsteps then came from an entirely different part of the room- but Sora couldn’t see anything _there_ either, even as Takanuva illuminated it.

“What? You afraid of me, then? Afraid of _just_ a Toa of Light and his little friend? Maybe you should come out and _fight_ me then!” Takanuva said, boldly and loudly.

The room echoed with laughter. “Is that really it? _That_ is your best attempt to goad me? You have _no_ idea who you’re dealing with, Toa. You aren’t worth my time to kill, not even when you walk right into my lair. No, I have something more... _fitting_ , for two such _noble_ Keyblade Wielders.”

All around them suddenly, Sora saw little glowing eyes peeking out from the Darkness. Heartless...but different from normal, somehow. They had _an_ Emblem on them, but it was one entirely unfamiliar to him. What’s more, rather than yellow eyes they all had _green_ eyes. What were these Heartless?

Before he could even try to work out what they were, the Heartless attacked him and Takanuva. The two Keyblade Wielders pulled out their Keyblades and got to work; these Heartless were more vicious and aggressive than normal, and a bit larger too. Sora found himself getting pushed back to a wall. Luckily, Takanuva was apparently having a much easier time; his new Toa body was so much more strong and agile than anything Sora had seen aside from the other Toa. With graceful leaps and nimble evasions, the Toa of Light swept aside Heartless in his path.

When he saw that Sora was cornered, Takanuva fired off two bursts of Light. Upon contact, the Heartless were immediately destroyed. The young man grinned at his friend- then shouted a warning when he saw an oversized Large Body was charging up behind him. Before Takanuva had a chance to turn around, Sora fired off a powerful Thunder spell that fried all the Heartless around them- including the Large Body about to take out Takanuva.

When all was said and done, him and Takanuva cleared out the Heartless thrown at them in less than five minutes, and they didn’t even feel like they’d broken a sweat. Fighting this Makuta was going to be easy, if only Sora could find him. He saw though that despite the ease of their victory against the Heartless, Takanuva didn’t seem terribly relieved.

“Stop toying with us, Makuta! Come out and fight us, or we _will_ find you, and we _will_ kill you!”

“Oh? It’s not in the Toa Code to kill, Takanuva. I would be flattered if you’d so violate that most sacred oath of your kind...so I invite you to _try_.”

Suddenly, a burst of lightning shot out from...somewhere. Sora couldn’t see where. He and Takanuva leapt to evade it. A cruel laugh echoed from inside the chamber- all around them this time, rather than anywhere in particular. Now, the voice _was_ in their heads.

“ _You see...I am rather more powerful than a simple beast of darkness. I am not some pathetic Heartless, like the ones you have fought up until now._ _I have all the powers of my Sons, the Rahkshi...and there are 42 different kinds of Rahkshi. Would you like a demonstration?”_

Sora and Takanuva had to leap to keep evading the bursts of lightning. Each one struck a surface and then kept bouncing around the walls of the cavern until it nearly hit either of them. Then, a burst of superheated air shot overhead- painfully hot, even as it failed to make contact. When it hit the wall, Sora saw it melted straight through the thick stone walls this place was made of.

After that, a horrible burst of sound- and this time they failed to evade it. Him and Takanuva clutched at their ears and fell to the ground in pain. The Makuta’s voice echoed in their heads.

" _Did you really think you had a chance? Just the two of you? No. I am_ done _letting you fools win. I am_ _done toying with you, as well. I think it is time you two_ died _.”_

At first, it didn’t seem like anything was happening...then, Sora realized that all the air around him was starting to get thinner...and thinner...and thinner. All the air in the room was disappearing. He looked around for anything that could help them...and then saw the pool of Energized Protodermis.

And he remembered what Takanuva had said. With effort, he pointed his Keyblade at the pool and cried out with what little breath he had.

The Zero Gravira spell he had practiced with Donald went off properly, and sent the Energized Protodermis scattering around the chamber. Quickly, he and Takanuva fled behind some pillars. The air started to flow back, and he heard the Makuta roar in anger. Even better though, he saw the stuff had struck his intended targets; the three pillars that trapped Donald, Goofy, and Jaller. With their stone prisons disintegrated, the three were exposed to the open air.

His friends seemed to take a moment to come back to life, but then they leapt out of their pillars and landed on the ground. Momentarily confused, they looked all around them- but when their eyes fell on Sora and Takanuva, they cheered. Jaller was out cold unfortunately- it looked like he’d hit his head when he fell to the ground.

Before they could do or say anything, he saw a burst of two red energy beams heading towards them, moving far too fast to dodge. Luckily, he didn’t have to- Goofy leapt into the way, and once again activated the green mask on his face, apparently by reflex. A powerful green energy field surrounded the four of them, and blocked the blast.

Donald looked over at Sora. “Sora! What’s going on?”

“Makuta! We’re fighting him, he kidnapped you guys! He’s powerful, he’s big, he’s invisible, and he’s mad! Oh and he’s evil. Also don’t touch the silvery stuff, it’ll melt you.”

Goofy grunted, still holding up his shield. Sora heard another rumbling sound, and then saw a burst of green liquid hit the shield. It sizzled against it and dissolved, but Goofy was staggered by the hit. Clearly he couldn’t keep this up long.

“Leave it to me!” Donald said, holding up his staff. Before Sora, Goofy, or Takanuva could protest, the duck leapt out of the shield’s protection. Immediately he was lifted into the air by some kind of Gravity spell...but then he counteracted it with a Gravira. Then, a burst of superheated plasma was shot at him- and he countered it with a Blizzaga.

The Makuta’s cruel voice echoed in their minds, at last sounding like he was losing his hitherto-unshakeable calm. “ _What...what are you?!”_

Donald Duck stood proudly and held up his staff. “I’m Donald Duck, Court Wizard to His Majesty King Mickey! GIGAFLARE!”

A burst of pure, white energy exploded outwards with Donald as the epicenter. Sora and the others were the only things in the room not hit- apparently some kind of selective magic on Donald’s part. The pillars filling the room were knocked aside, thankfully not load-bearing as far as Sora could tell. The walls were cracked and bricks were blasted off of them by the force of the explosion. Donald himself was clearly exhausted by the attack, and he fell over, barely conscious.

And the Makuta was hit as well. Sora heard a roar of pain from one part of the room- about ten meters from him and the others. There he could see this monster clearly for the first time; a massive, metal, broadly humanoid figure that wore a mask dark as night, with two slits for eyes instead of pupils, and no visible mouth. He held in his hand a staff...that was now broken. The force of the spell had blasted him so hard he was lodged into the wall, and had cracked his armor in several places. It was causing him to start leaking some strange green substance out of those cracks. Before any of them could even suspect the blast had killed him though, the Makuta pulled himself out of the wall and stood up- though unsteadily.

Takanuva and Sora didn’t waste this chance, and charged at him, Keyblades drawn. Before the Shadow Titan could do anything to stop them, they started bashing and bludgeoning him with their Keyblades. He roared in pain, the Light clearly damaging him _badly_. He swiped at them with his massive claws- but Takanuva and Sora both easily dodged and even parried the hits. Takanuva then circled around, and started blasting him over and over with Light. All while he did so, Sora kept the Makuta’s focus by bashing him in his masked face repeatedly with Kingdom Key.

“Enough!” The Makuta called out in anger, blasting the two of them away from him with a wave of Shadow energy. “I will not be made a fool of! I will kill you- BOTH of you- and I will do so _right now!_ ”

He let out another wave of energy, and Sora felt his body grow sluggish and tired. It was like being hit with a Slow spell, but...different, somehow. He and Takanuva both struggled to charge the Makuta again, but the monster just laughed wickedly and approached them, walking ponderously. One of his legs had been badly damaged by Donald’s attack, and he was all but limping as he approached them. Briefly, Sora wondered why he didn’t use one of his other powers that he’d demonstrated…then it occurred to him that he must be only able to use _one_ at any given time, hence his speaking whenever he was using another power than his Telepathy. Right now he was focusing on Slowing them, and was going to kill them with his bare claws…but if he was focused on killing them, he couldn’t do anything _else._

“Takanuva,” Sora struggled to say, “Can you...can you get one last burst of Light off, in his face, before he gets to us?”

The Toa of Light nodded. “Sure, but I can’t finish him off with that!”

Sora grimaced. “Don’t worry, I have another plan.” He reached in his pocket for the odd disc he’d been given when they were in the Realm of Darkness. Quietly, he hoped that any surface was as good as a wall, when he eyed the floor where Makuta was limping towards them. Takanuva aimed his Keyblade as fast he could- but, even injured, the Makuta was still faster than them. He was nearing more and more every second, all while the Toa of Light laboriously drew his weapon up to the level of the Makuta’s eye. Finally, he had made it- just as the Makuta was less than a _meter_ from them, reaching out with his massive claws.

Takanuva’s mask glowed golden with energy as he channeled Light into his Keyblade, and fired a blast of Light energy into the Makuta’s face so strong it knocked him back and seemed to dislodge his mask. Sora seized his moment- now that the Makuta’s concentration was broken and the Slow was lifted, he _threw_ the little metal disk with all his might at the floor beneath the Makuta’s feet. A portal of pure Darkness opened up beneath the Makuta’s feet. Despite his own affiliation with Shadow, it was clear the titanic being had no power to resist its pull, and he sunk into the Darkness. His glowing red eyes bore into the two heroes, clearly going to try one last shot at taking them out with him.

Before that could happen, a shield flew across the room and smacked the Makuta on the side of the head, fully dislodging his mask and sending it skittering across the floor. The Makuta roared in rage and turned to look at who had thrown it; Goofy, standing tall and proud...until he was so caught up in the moment that, when his shield returned to him, it bonked _him_ on the head too, knocking him to the floor with an “Oof!”

The Makuta sunk into the other Realm, his indistinct behind all the odd green substance leaking out from it. The monster screamed in rage and defiance, speaking in some language neither Sora nor Takanuva could understand as he slipped deeper and deeper into Darkness. Once he was fully inside the portal, the darkness vanished. All that was left behind was his mask and the metal disc Sora had been given. Gingerly, the Keyblade wielding boy walked up to it and picked it up. He put it back in his pocket, grateful to the stranger who had given it to him.

He walked over to his friends as Takanuva inspected the Mask of Shadows from a distance. With a single Cura, he was able to get Donald and Goofy back on their feet. They leapt forward appreciatively and embraced him, and he cried softly at having gotten his friends back.

“I’m sorry I let you guys get captured, I-”

“Hey, what matters is that you came back!” Donald said cheerfully. Goofy nodding in agreement, and rubbing his head where he’d been hit with the shield.

“Sora, what do you think I should do with this?” Takanuva asked, looking over at the Mask of Shadows. It was sitting there, looking all to the world like a harmless- if large and heavy- piece of metal.

“I wouldn’t touch it.” Sora said, looking over at him. “It could be cursed or something.”

Takanuva seemed to consider it, then nodded. “Yeah, yeah you’re probably right.”

The four of them focused their attention on Jaller, still out cold. Donald fired off a Curaga spell at him, and he finally stirred. Blinking his eyes open, the Ta-Matoran looked up at them all. His eyes fell on Takanuva.

“Who...are you? The Seventh Toa? Did Takua find you?”

Takanuva smiled, and knelt down. “Jaller, it’s me. Takua- well uh, Takanuva now but. It’s still me!”

Jaller shot right up, seemingly shaking off all his confusion. “Okay, what kind of Makuta trick is this?! I’m not falling for it! I’ll resist, you hear me Makuta! I will resist you for as long as-”

“Jaller no, it really is me. Remember that time ten years ago when I stole your mask and told everyone that you had sold it to a Po-Matoran for a new Kolhii stick?”

The Ta-Matoran glared at his friend. “Oh. It is you.”

After a moment, he leapt up and hugged his friend. “It is you! It’s you! You’re a TOA! This is amazing and unbelievable and...and we’re all alive! And...wait, we’re in the Makuta’s Lair...where’s the Makuta?”

“Gone! We sent him to the Realm of Darkness!” Sora said cheerfully.

“Where I’m sure he’ll be right at home.” Said a familiar voice behind them. The gathered heroes turned around and saw Turaga Vakama approaching them, along with the other five Turaga and the other Six Toa, as well as Hahli.

“Turaga Vakama!” Jaller and Takanuva said in unison. They both approached him, and bowed their heads respectfully. Then, Jaller and Hahli exchanged a...look. It was one he and Kairi had given each other plenty of times, and he had a feeling he knew what it meant here, too.

The Turaga chuckled. “You should not be honoring me. It is we,” he said, motioning to himself, the other Turaga, Hahli, and the Toa Nuva, “Who should be honoring _you_.” As he said so, he and the others knelt before Takanuva, Jaller, Sora, Goofy, and Donald. Then they rose again, and Vakama began walking to the other side of the room. He stopped when he approached a large stone gate.

“And now it is time I revealed to you something I should’ve told you long ago; I suspect your Keyhole, Sora, lies beyond this door. As well as some...answers, that I owe to the rest of you.”

Sora was curious about what those answers might be, but much more excited that he would finally be able to Seal the Keyhole and save this world from the Heartless. Come to think of it though, he hadn’t seen _that_ many here- it was strange, he would’ve expected a lot of them down here with the Makuta. At any rate, the more pressing question was obvious.

“Uh...how do we open this door?” Sora asked, looking up at it.

“Leave it to me!” Donald said proudly, waving his magic staff and casting Zero Gravira on it. He then motioned to the Toa and Goofy.

“Come on, big guys! It’s lighter now, trust me!”

Shrugging, Onua stepped forwards...and found that indeed, he could quite easily lift the gate a fraction. Goofy and the other Toa all stepped forward and pushed it upwards, until it locked into place above them. The gate open, the Toa, the Turaga, the Trio, and the two Matoran all headed through it. Before them was an odd sea of Silvery liquid- not quite the energized protodermis, but similar.

“Takanuva...if you could Light our way.” Vakama said, motioning to the mist. Looking a bit puzzled, Takanuva did so; his Mask glowed with golden light, and shot out a beam of Light across the horizon. As he did so, the mist over the Silver Sea parted; and revealed another island that Sora had not seen before. This one looked like it was the same size as Mata Nui...but where Mata Nui was almost completely wild but for a few villages, _this_ island looked like a massive city. Towers of metal and crystal, huge forges that lay dormant, fields of stone filled with great statues, and chutes connecting all of it…

“My island home, Metru Nui. We have much to discuss, Toa. But first...” he said, motioning to a spot on the wall. He hadn't noticed it before, but when Sora approached it started glowing golden in the shape of a key.

Turaga Vakama smiled. “You have a Keyhole to seal.”

Sora nodded, and pointed his Keyblade up at it. A beam of golden light shot out, and the Keyhole glowed in response. A wave of Light shot outwards all around them, and at last this world’s heart was safe from Darkness.

“It is time for you to leave, my friend.” Vakama said sadly. “You have aided us greatly, but I suspect you will be needed elsewhere.”

Sora nodded, and looked around at his newfound friends. He’d miss them all so much. But most of all there was one he’d miss in particular. Sora walked over to Takanuva...who shook his head.

“No. Nope, no goodbyes.” He snapped his metallic fingers together, and the Ussanui came roaring up through Mangaia and sat down besides him. “At least, not for long.”

“Toa Takanuva? What are you doing?” Vakama asked, sounding alarmed.

“My Destiny isn’t here, or on that ‘Metru Nui’, Turaga. I know that now.” He held up his Keyblade. “This is how I know. This Keyblade...it’s calling to me. I know I’m needed, elsewhere. On other Worlds.”

Jaller was the first to react. He ran over to his friend, and hugged at his leg. “But...Takua, you can’t go! Who will I yell at for slacking off?”

Takanuva smiled sadly. “You can always be lazy for me, as a way of remembering me.”

Hahli walked up more calmly, and seemed to smile at the Toa of Light. “I wish you wouldn’t go but...good luck and safe journeys, friend.”

The Toa of Light just smiled at the Ga-Matoran. Then looked at her and Jaller, and winked at her knowingly. She giggled, and looked over at Jaller- who just looked confused.

“But…we will _need_ you.” Tahu said, imploringly.

Takanuva shook his head. “No, you won’t. For now at least, the Makuta is gone; and you handled all other threats before me well enough. You’ll handle them well enough after.”

Then, Gali approached. “We need to stay United, Brother! You just joined us- and now you are already leaving!”

Just then, there was a great shout and sounds of alarm. The group all looked and turned- and saw Turaga Vakama struggling to stand. He raised up his hand, and stepped forward. He seemed shaken by something. “No, Toa Gali. Takanuva is right. I have just been granted a vision, by the Great Spirit. I have seen what will befall us if he does not leave.”

Turaga Matau looked over at his friend. “Oh no, not another dream-vision. I thought you had stopped having those hundreds of years ago!”

“Yes, Matau. _Another_ one. After all these years...”

Sora knew he shouldn’t be staying for this- especially not with how Donald was tapping his webbed foot to the floor impatiently. With a heavy heart, he turned around and started making his way out of the room. With some distance, Donald could transport them back to the Gummi Ship, and they’d be on to the next world- whatever it was, it couldn’t compare to _this_ one. He felt changed, more than he had after any other world; broadened, deepened. He’d carry those Three Virtues with him wherever he went; but more than that, he’d carry the memories of his new friends with him.

* * *

Makuta opened his eyes, now that he could ignore the distraction of his essence slipping out through all the holes his armor had been given. His power of Quick Healing had served him well there, for sure. The loss of his Mask was a problem, but luckily he always kept a black but otherwise ordinary Great Mask of Shielding as a backup. The Kraakhan was more a symbol of power than a useful tool, anyway. The question _now_ was...where was he? This beach was unfamiliar, certainly not on Mata Nui. The sky was alien to him, and the moon...the moon seemed so _wrong_ somehow.

There had been many of the Heartless here- more like the ones he’d glimpsed in the dim past. Purer, more wild, and not marked with anyone’s Emblem. They had surrounded him curiously, as if he was akin to them. They’d become his only companions, so to speak. Acting as scouts they allowed him to scan more of his horizon than he’d otherwise be able to...but what little they’d found did not encourage him. Endless Shadows, everywhere, though not quite what he’d come to expect from the Field of Shadows. Indeed, this realm was more complex than he’d been led to think the Field of Shadows was. 

Before long, he had found that this Darkness was quite suitable to his own inherent elemental powers of Shadow. With a small effort of will he could reshape his environment, albeit not by much. More effort expended unfortunately only allowed him similarly small results, just on a larger scale. At best he could make a halfway passable dwelling- but there was nothing of _use_ here, besides the Heartless. Perhaps he could find a way to manipulate the Shadows to create doorways out of this realm and back to his own Universe, but for now such things were beyond him.

It was a shame. Finding this realm even just a few short years ago would have been tremendously useful, if he’d been given more tools with which to study it of course. But no...he was trapped. Ah well. Another minor setback in his 90,000-year long plan. And really, this might even be a boon- if it led to this Kingdom Hearts he’d glimpsed in Ansem’s mind. Oh yes, the things he could _do_ with that...

_Soon enough, Brother...soon enough I will return, and I will take what should have been mine from the start. And when I do, I will use that power to find one even_ greater _than yours._

* * *

The cloaked figure sighed, watching the Shapeshifting Master of Darkness from afar. He couldn’t see her, of course. Her cloak had been fashioned by Artakha himself, as she had, and it hid her cleverly from all Heartless- no matter their origin.

The portal opened behind her, and an enormous figure in a golden mask, with armor of blue and gold, stepped out. He was concealed as well, by the cloak wrapped around his shoulders; it was more important that it be _worn_ than it _cover_ , which was good given how enormous Brutaka was. It didn't protect him from the Darkness of this place of course, but then Brutaka also had shown an impressive ability to absorb the Darkness and shake it off.

“Helryx isn’t happy about all this.” He noted, observing the Makuta as well, “Teridax now fully aware of the other worlds?”

“Other Universe, Brutaka. Let’s not keep the lie between ourselves, eh? The Boss just said not to tell these people more than they needed to know.”

The giant just sighed. “This...this convergence. It shouldn’t have happened again, not so soon.”

The Black Cloaked figure chuckled, and looked up at him. “So soon? Really? I don’t know if I’d call a thousand years _soon_.”

“We don’t know how long that is to them, or how long it was on their end. It might’ve been more, so _much_ more...”

She shrugged. “Well, that’s besides the point. We did our part; you got me in and out nice and surreptitiously. We nudged them in that World’s direction, and _I_ made sure my Brother met his Destiny on schedule, Makuta’s interruptions be damned.”

“Yes, I suppose _that_ much can be said for certain. I’m returning to Daxia. You coming?”

“No, not yet. I’ll catch up with you.”

The giant turned around, and stepped back through another portal.

The black-cloaked figure looked out at the endless black sea. She'd once watched a similar sea, on another island. Feeling as out of place there as she did at home here. Alone in a crowd, unwanted. Here though, she belonged- though she wouldn't call it _home_. Certainly it wasn't her sanctuary. But her old life...oh yes, as much a prison as this place now was for she that had freed her from her miserable existence on that island so long ago.

“Soon, my love. I’ll free you from this prison, and repay your jailer in kind for what he did to you and your friends.”

She smiled to herself, and looked up at the moon.

“I’ve committed you to my memory.”


End file.
